Completely Incomplete
by Leigh A. Sumpter
Summary: “Yesterday, you told me that you were done chasing me. Are you?” Lily asked. James stopped to think about his answer. “That depends,” he responded, a small smile creeping onto his face. "Do you want me to be?"
1. From The Beginning

Author Note: Hey there! This is my first attempt at a full-length Marauder fic, so please go easy on me! I'd love any feedback I can get, so if you have the patience, could you please review for me? Thank you for stopping to take a look at this story. XD

* * *

**Completely Incomplete**

…..

"James Potter, wake up!" Lily Evans hissed into his ear, grasping his bedcovers and throwing them to the ground.

"Give those back," James muttered, half-asleep as he rolled over onto his side, reaching an arm out for his much-needed blanket. "It's cold in here…"

"No," Lily replied firmly, kicking the sheets farther out of his reach. This was partly to lure James out of bed, but also for her own amusement. She could hear James's teeth chattering from the cool winter air, and she suppressed a small smile by simply nagging him instead. "You were supposed to be awake hours ago to help organize the decorations committee! I had to handle everything on my own, and I must say that your absence was a poor representation of how you handle your Head Boy responsibilities." She inched toward the window and pulled back the curtains, letting the light pour into the room.

"Can't it wait, Mummy?" he asked, squinting his eyes at the sudden burst of light. Letting his vision adjust, he sat up slowly and peered at Lily. "Oh- you look nice today, Mummy."

Lily sighed. "Why don't you put on your glasses, dear son?" she suggested in a mock-motherly voice, wondering whether James was pretending to be blind or if he was truly delusional. She motioned toward his nightstand, hoping that he might see it.

James fumbled around for his glasses, and let his eyes focus when he put them on. Swinging his legs around the bed, he smiled at the Head Girl who stood before him. "Good morning, my lovely Lily," he greeted her, his voice crackling slightly.

Lily scowled at James and shook her head. "You don't realize this, Potter, but it's two-o-clock in the afternoon, therefore disqualifying your last statement." She counted on her fingers, and then crossed her arms exasperatedly. "You overslept six hours! Can you believe that? Who the bloody hell needs _that_ much sleep?"

"Ooh, you're _feisty_," James laughed, standing up to face her. "I should call you Tiger Lily."

"How very clever of you," Lily replied, rolling her eyes at him. "You know, you're lucky it's the weekend or else I might not have covered for you at all."

"And that is one of the many reasons why I just_ love_ you." James rumpled his already-messy hair and grinned at her. "You do everything in your power so that I can keep my impressive figurehead position." He bent down to Lily's height and kissed her on the cheek.

Lily slapped James across the face, and headed toward the door. "I'm coming back in fifteen minutes," she announced, her voice all-business. "You'd best be ready by then. We've got our Head duties to attend to." She left the room.

"Yes, Mummy," James called to her, watching her figure disappear as the door swung shut behind her.

* * *

This was just another typical day, a day like any other. Both Lily and James, in their seventh and final year at Hogwarts, relived this scene nearly every day, as though it was part of a script they needed to perfect. The two had little in common – in fact, their personalities contrasted so deeply that it was difficult for either of them to get much accomplished.

Lily had strongly disliked James ever since the first day they met, on the train to Hogwarts. He and his friends had opted to sit with her group, and Lily could remember the first words he so eagerly said to her:

"Ooh- your hair is so red and pretty! Can I touch it?"

Although this was intended as a compliment, Lily had not taken it that way. For as long as she could remember, she had detested her red locks – in her opinion, they took too much attention away from her face. If she wanted anything to stand out, she would choose her emerald green eyes, as the shade was still uncommon, but she hated to see them paired with her vibrant hair color.

In response, then, Lily shot back sarcastically, "Ooh- _your_ hair is so thick and messy! Can I comb it?"

As people would soon learn, James was the easier-going of the two of them. He had an untamed, unkempt head of hair, which he often rumpled in order to seem impressive – a quirk of his that even his friends questioned. A laidback person, even at the age of eleven, James smiled and leaned back in his seat.

"You should know," he said to her, a grin plastered on his face, "I like fiery redheads."

And that was the day that James received his first – but definitely not last – slap from Lily.

Over the years, the two were like this. They'd both been sorted into Gryffindor, and they had a few friends in common, so this made it increasingly difficult for them to avoid one another. It was a widely-known fact that James fancied Lily, but she would either ignore his attempts to woo her, or claim to take offense at them. In all honesty, Lily had harbored feelings for someone else.

When James and Lily were chosen as Head Boy and Head Girl at Hogwarts, Lily was both bewildered and aggravated to learn that she would have a title to share with _him_. To top that off, they would have even more in common – their living quarters. The Head Boy and Head Girl each had their own dormitories, but the two had to share a Common Room as well as a bathroom.

Now, in December, Lily and James were still adjusting to being forced together – James, of course, more willingly than Lily. This, they knew, was going to be a difficult year.

* * *

Author Note: So, what did you think? Short, I know, but did you like it? Dislike it? Never want to see it again? Just let me know if you're interested in reading more – I have a whole story planned out, and I'm waiting to know what your opinion was on this, before I keep writing. Reviews would be _so_ nice – thanks for your time! 


	2. Good News

**AUTHOR NOTE:** My apologies for such a late update to Completely Incomplete! Of the Harry Potter fics I have written, this is certainly my favorite, and it will be continued. Unfortunately, between updating other stories, making decent grades at school, and cheerleading, it usually takes me a while before I add a new chapter. I hope that doesn't discourage you guys, though, and that you keep reading my stories! Your reviews mean a LOT to me!

I'll acknowledge each and every one of you at the end of this chapter. Thank you for being such an integral part of the writing process. I couldn't write without readers like you!

* * *

**Chapter Two**

"So, I suppose I wouldn't want to know how wake-up call went this morning?" Jerrica Davies asked a completely frazzled Lily, who took a seat across from her at the Gryffindor table.

Lily tossed her best friend a weary look. "Pass me a roll, would you?" she responded, avoiding the question entirely.

Jerrica did as requested, raising an eyebrow. "What did he do this time?"

"You know how Potter can be," Lily replied in an annoyed tone. "First he overslept, then he mistook me for his mother, and then he kept going off-task when we were supposed to brainstorm decoration ideas for the New Years' Banquet."

Jerrica cocked her head in confusion, before she realized what Lily meant. Then she grinned. "He tried to kiss you, didn't he?"

Despite all her best efforts, Lily returned a small smile, but before she could reply, James slid into the seat next to her.

"Eleven times, to be exact!" James exclaimed, putting his arm around Lily's shoulders. "But my lovely Lily here insisted that we finish our work first and save the fun for later. She's got good willpower, that girl." He winked at Jerrica.

Lily groaned, thrusting James's arm off of her. "Oh, shut up. The only fun we'll be having tonight is the fun of explaining to McGonagall why we haven't finished planning the Banquet."

Lily's other best friend, Selena Porter, took a seat across from them at the table. "Fun?" she asked, not knowing what point she had entered the conversation. "I could use some fun." She twirled a blonde curl, seeming to be deep in thought.

Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, James's closest friends, also appeared at the table to join them. "You haven't had fun until you've gone to The Three Broomsticks' on Halloween night," Remus informed them.

"Wearing little more than a cape," Sirius added, a smirk plastered on his face.

"You did not!" Jerrica exclaimed, smacking Sirius lightly on the arm. "Not even _you_ have that much nerve."

Sirius laughed. "Perhaps I don't, but our lovesick friend over here does."

"It was obvious that Madam Rosmerta liked my costume better than any of yours!" James insisted. "And I'm not lovesick. Lily knows that deep inside, she feels the same for me as I do for her."

Lily turned to him. "That's funny, Potter. I was under the impression you _fancied_ me."

Selena looked at the group, utterly confused. "But isn't that what James was saying?" she inquired, unsure of what they meant. Always a step behind, her friends had learned to repeat things with her, and it often took someone with more than an ounce of patience, usually Jerrica, to explain the banter.

"So, then," Jerrica prompted back to the original topic, "did our Head Boy and Head Girl accomplish _anything_ this afternoon?"

"Other than a throbbing headache?" Lily replied. "I tried to establish with our friend here that McGonagall would not approve of snogging as a group activity at the Banquet, but I don't think it's quite registered with him yet."

James grinned. "Why wouldn't she? Snogging builds character."

"Which explains your charisma, I'm sure," Lily retorted. She made brief eye contact with Remus, who snickered.

Suddenly, the six of them heard a loud, piggy little laugh, and turned around to see Peter Pettigrew standing behind.

"Sorry I'm late," Peter said as his form of greeting. "Filch sent Mrs. Norris chasing me down the corridors, and that held me up for a while. You know how I feel about her."

"The same way I feel about James?" Lily responded.

"Now, now, Lily," James chuckled. "I don't think it's fair to say that Petey harbors feelings for a cat, no matter how… desirable… that cat may be."

The group of seventh year Gryffindors went on like this until dinner ended, at which point they went their separate ways. The girls headed up to the Common Room, while the boys left for the Quidditch pitch. James and Sirius needed to practice, Remus wanted to read while staying out in the fresh air, and Peter loved to be anywhere his friends were.

* * *

Up in the girls' dormitories, Lily felt like somewhat of an outsider, since she no longer lived there, so she stood uncomfortably as Jerrica and Selena plopped down onto their beds. Selena found herself completely engrossed in the latest copy of _Witch Weekly_ magazine, while Jerrica and Lily talked.

"You have to admit," Jerrica said with a smile, "he's persistent. Aren't you the least bit flattered? Other than you, me, and Selena, nearly every girl in this school would love to be in your position with James."

Lily sighed. "Of course I'm flattered, Jer," she confessed. "I don't think I'll ever find another guy who obsesses over me _that _much. But it's just that, Jerrica… an obsession. And _why_ couldn't it be his best friend with the obsession, instead of him?"

"Now, Lily…" Jerrica gave her a faux evil eye. "_I'm_ the one who fancies his best friend, remember?"

"Oh, you and your technicalities… you know who I mean. His _other_ best friend."

The day that Lily had met James was the same day she had also met Remus and Peter. She and Sirius had already met once or twice before that, since Sirius and Jerrica were also extremely close friends, so he had introduced her to the remaining Marauders.

Peter always came across as a little annoying and clingy, but Remus had given Lily a good vibe from day one. Often in class, especially when paired together, she noticed how compatible they were – and even now, she wondered why _he_ was not Head Boy. Surely she would be having a much more productive year if he was given that appointment.

Lily had fancied Remus for years, but never let on to anyone except Jerrica and Selena. Jerrica had begun to fancy Sirius on and off for only the past couple of years, but nonetheless it was a strong fancy. The two always joked, whenever speaking of James, that Jerrica was in love with his best friend, and that Lily was in love with his _other_ best friend.

"Well," Lily said finally. "I'm just happy that I only have a few more miserable days to spend with him before he leaves for the holiday. Luckily, he's not due back at school for weeks, so we have quite some time without him here. Even if his absence does include the absence of his best friends, I suppose we'll have to survive."

"That's true," Jerrica replied. "Besides, we do need some time to keep our minds off the boys. Just for a little while, you know?"

Lily nodded. This was the first thing that brought her peace of mind all day.

* * *

While Peter had to pick up an extra assignment from Herbology, the other three boys headed inside the castle.

"Is Wormtail becoming particularly clingy lately, or is it just me?" Sirius asked as soon as he was out of earshot. "I'm starting to think he's become a little too attached."

Remus shrugged. "I suppose that's the way he always is," he responded quietly. "You know he hates to be left alone."

"I can't believe we're going to stay with him at his mother's house for the holiday," James complained. "_Why_ did we let him talk us into that?"

Sirius grinned. "Come to think of it, we never really told him we were sure we could go. Now, he _has_ to visit his mother or she'll send him another Howler… but we certainly don't. His mum doesn't care if we visit or not – she just wants her dear Petey to be home for Christmas." He paused for a moment. "We should stay here."

Remus sighed. "Wouldn't that be rude?" he asked. "I know he can be a pain in the arse, but he's our friend."

Sirius shook his head. "As a friend, he'll be most understanding when he hears the bad news. He warned us about his mum's stews… if he cares at all about us, he'll support us for avoiding her cooking."

"That's not why we're avoiding him, Sirius. It's not right."

"Well, Moony… if you feel that strongly about it, you should still go with him. But as for me – I think I'll stay here. What about you, Prongs?"

James grinned. "Count me in. Looks like you're all alone, Moony, unless you decide to stay with us."

With a sigh, Remus gave in. "Fine. But it was Padfoot's idea, so he should be the one to break it to Peter. Not me."

Sirius cackled deviously.

James smiled to himself. "I can't wait to tell Lily the good news!" he exclaimed.

* * *

**AUTHOR NOTE**: Yes, yes. I'm aware that the chapter sucked. But you can tell me all about that in your reviews.

**ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:** Here are my acknowledgements to my amazing readers from Chapter One.

BEATLESROCKSODOESHP – You are the best mother ever. I'm glad you liked the "Mummy!" thing – and the Lily/James fandom in itself. XD Enjoy!

TlalGalaxia – I'm glad you like my interpretation of the characters! I hope you continue to feel that way and enjoy the attempts at humor. Thank you, and keep reading!

Sarah – Thank you! Hope you keep reading!

Slugabed – Haha, I'm glad you think so. Hope you continue reading this story!

Lady Radcliffe – Well, it's taken me forever to update, but I hope you liked this chapter! Lily plus James equals HOTNESS FOR LIFE. XD

Hpgirl7777 – Thank you! Hope you keep reading!

Rachel Leah – Well … Chapter 2 is up! I know it needs Chapter 3, 4, 5, 6 (lol) but I hope you enjoy what I have so far! Thanks for reading!

Maraudergirl7 – Thank you, thank you!

BlackCat69 – Thank you for always being there to review my stories! I know NSG hasn't been updated much lately but it will be soon! Thank you for your feedback on everything – it means a lot!

Vache – Thank you! It means a lot to hear that – and I'm glad you're enjoying so far. Hope you continue to do so!

Duck-a-roo – I know it's taken me two _more_ months since you reviewed my last chapter, but Chapter 2 is finally up. I hope you continue to read this story and review it, because you seem like you'd have a lot of good critiques for it. Thank you for reading!

Auriela – Thank you for your feedback! It means a lot!

Embracing – Thank you for your reviews on several of my stories! I'm glad you're enjoying them and I hope you keep reading everything!


	3. Quidditch, Scones, and Broken Hearts

**AUTHOR NOTE:** Wow… I'm updating again, and it's only been a little over a week! I suppose once Monica read it, she urged me to write another chapter enough so that I actually did! I guess Chapter 2 didn't have as great of a turn-out as Chapter 1, but I'm glad to be getting positive feedback from you all! It's an amazing thing to have loyal readers, and it means a lot to me! I hope you all enjoy Chapter 3. XD

* * *

**Chapter Three**

It was Sunday morning at Hogwarts, and unlike most days, James was out of bed earlier than required.

Lily stood outside the bathroom door, a purely annoyed expression on her face. In one hand, she held a bundle of clothes and a towel, but with the other, she rapped on the door once more. "James Adonis Potter!" she shouted in exasperation. "Hurry up! You're using up all the hot water!"

She cursed to herself. _Why couldn't the Head Boy and Head Girl have their own separate bathrooms, for Merlin's sake?_ she wondered. Usually Lily was the first to wake up, so if anyone had to worry about having to take a frigid shower, it would be James, but on a day like this – the day of a Quidditch game – James was always awake early. There was no reason for him to spend this much time on a shower, seeing as he would only need one again in a matter of hours, but Lily figured that he did it to be a nuisance (which didn't require that much effort, really).

After another moment of waiting, the shower water stopped, and the bathroom door opened. Lily could see the steam leaving the room as James appeared before her in the doorway, a scarlet and gold towel wrapped around his waist. He grinned.

"I borrowed your shampoo," James greeted her, rumpling his already messy wet hair. "I hope you don't mind. It makes my hair extra shiny, wouldn't you say?"

Lily groaned and shook her head, although she couldn't help but notice that his hair did look better than usual. And as always, seeing James without a shirt always drew attention to his washboard abs, though Lily would never let him catch her looking at them.

Focusing back on her current state that morning, Lily looked back at James, who, in his position, blocked her from entering the bathroom. She considered it the perfect opportunity for nagging, assuming he wasn't going to move.

"_Why_ do you insist on taking such a long time in the shower if you're only going to need another one after the game?" Lily demanded. "It's as though you forget that we have to share this bathroom!"

James paused for a moment, appearing thoughtful. "That's true," he responded finally, a pensive tone to his voice. After a bit more thought, he grinned once more. "You know, Lily, if you really feel the need to save time, why don't we just shower together?" he suggested.

With her free hand, Lily slapped him.

"The point of a shower is to be cleansed," Lily said, "and I'm afraid that wouldn't be possible if you were within that vicinity."

James laughed. "Still believe in cooties, Evans?" he asked. "I thought our relationship was past that."

Lily opened her mouth to respond, but for once, she couldn't think of anything clever to shoot back. _This is a first_, she thought to herself, slightly annoyed but mostly curious. Usually the two always had a witty comeback until they grew tired of their banter (which generally took a while), but never did Lily have no response on her mind at all. If she ever ended the conversation, it was because she was tired of wasting her time, not because she couldn't think of what else to say.

"Move it, Potter," she said finally, her voice tired.

James's triumphant expression morphed into a somewhat confused one, but he merely shrugged and moved out of her way. "I'll go get dressed, then," he responded, not entirely sure of why Lily was not still trying to insult him. "See you at breakfast, love!"

As James disappeared from sight, Lily sighed and headed into the bathroom. Perhaps if she could figure out a charm to keep the water warm, she could take a nice long bath instead, and attempt to forget the entire morning.

* * *

James arrived at the Gryffindor table to find Sirius and Jerrica deep in discussion, with Selena and Peter merely listening in, and Remus not even paying attention, his nose in a book. Flashing a smile at the fourth year girl he'd caught staring at him on his way to the table, he rumpled his hair out of habit and took a seat next to Sirius. 

"Good morning, everyone!" he greeted them cheerfully, reaching for whatever food available and stuffing something wrapped in a napkin into his Quidditch robe pocket.

"James. What's wrong?" Jerrica inquired, sounding somewhat scared. "Lily has to _pry_ you out of bed most mornings. How are you so perky today? Usually you barely make it through breakfast."

"Yeah, mate, what are you on?" Sirius asked him with a grin, nudging his friend in the arm.

James shook his head. "I'm just excited for the game, that's all. Can't wait to rip those Slytherins to shreds!"

"I almost dated the Slytherin Keeper once," Selena told them suddenly. "I forget his name, but he changed his mind about me as soon as I told him I was in Gryffindor."

"_Ah_," Sirius enunciated, trying to make his voice sound brave. "Then we _must_ rip Slytherin to shreds!"

"Why don't you ever date one of the eligible bachelors from _Gryffindor_, 'Lena?" James winked at her.

Before Selena could respond, Lily appeared at the table and took a seat next to her. "Surely you'd know the answer to that, James," she replied. "The eligible bachelors of Gryffindor graduated last year." She felt somewhat guilty in saying this, as she and Jerrica did fancy two of the 'eligible bachelors,' who happened to be present when she said it, but she knew her words would at least not affect Sirius. She merely hoped Remus had been too engrossed in his book to hear her.

"You break my heart, Lily," James told her, a mock-pout on his face.

Lily shook her head. She looked around the table for something to eat, but all she saw was a platter of bacon, a food she found most vile. She sighed and pushed her empty plate away. "What happened to all of the food?" she asked.

Jerrica glared at the boys. "It seems our friends here wanted to get their strength up before the game this afternoon," she informed her, before going back into a much earlier-started discussion with Sirius.

_All of that good food gone to waste,_ Lily thought to herself, somewhat hurt that nobody had thought of her in their sudden food binge.

As though reading her mind, James offered her a light smile, and reached into his robe pocket, pulling out something wrapped in a napkin. "I saved you a scone," he told her, his voice sweeter than usual.

Taking the scone from the napkin, Lily found herself speechless for the second time that morning. The gesture _was_ kind of James – whether or not he knew that scones were Lily's favorite food – and she could not merely brush it off with a quick comeback.

"Er… thank you," she said finally, unable to prevent a small smile.

_Did she just smile at me, or was that some weird sort of spasm?_ James wondered to himself, caught completely off-guard. Slowly, he nodded and smiled back. "Anytime," he responded.

_Anytime_.

* * *

Lily sat in the Gryffindor section of the crowded Quidditch stands, sandwiched between Jerrica and Remus. While Jer and Selena discussed the current commentator, Rex Jordan, and debated how adorable he was compared to other Hogwarts students, Lily merely pretended to have mild interest, though her mind was somewhere else. While she should be focusing on the conversation - or better yet, the game - Lily could only think about the odd way she'd acted around James that morning. Twice. 

"So," Remus said to her suddenly, interrupting her thoughts. "You don't find Rex's commentating the least bit adorable?" He shot her a shy yet teasing grin.

_Not nearly as adorable as your smile_, Lily thought to herself, smiling back at him. "No more adorable than I find James, of course," she replied.

"Obsess much?" Remus laughed. "I reckon, Lily, I've never seen him that way around anyone, and you _know_ how he is around girls."

Lily nodded. Even though she was James's main target, she had seen him flirt with many other girls over the years – even Lily's friends, though he tended to stick to girls of other Houses. Girls fell at James's feet constantly, and he often took advantage of the girls willing to take it a level past flirting. As long as it was not a committed relationship, James loved this attention, and even the girls he'd been with briefly had something new to boast.

However, the way he acted around Lily was… different. It was evident that he cared much more for her, though Lily had no idea why.

"I suppose you're right," she said with a sigh. Lily longed for Remus to be the one to feel that way for her – not James, no matter how much he cared for her – and sitting right next to him as his friend seemed to make matters worse.

Sitting here with Remus brought Lily's mind back to a certain something that took place between the two of them back in their sixth year. They had been on their nightly-shift for Prefect Duties, talking and laughing about something, when Lily had tripped (the corridor was dark), and fell over on top of Remus. Her lips had brushed against his, and for about a moment, they remained that way. Then, Lily had suddenly scrambled up off the ground, and although, a year later, Remus had seemed to forgotten that moment, Lily had not. It was still often awkward for her to look him in the eye, but she tried to make the most of things. Obviously he had forgotten the incident; perhaps unless their relationship progressed, then so should she.

Interrupting her thoughts again, Remus stood up. "Sorry about this," he apologized to her. "I have to go to the concession stand for some chocolate. Want me to bring some back for you?"

Lily smiled weakly and shook her head. "No thank you," she replied, watching him leave. She wondered if it was merely an excuse because she'd been too boring for him. Often Lily was insecure about these things, but unlike most people, didn't have anyone to confide in. Her friends were amazing when she needed them, and yet she had difficulty talking about matters too personal with anyone. She was not the type of girl who would open up about just anything.

"Stop touching me!" a female voice from the nearby Ravenclaw stands squealed, sounding almost as though she _did_ want to be touched.

Lily, along with her friends, turned to face the scene, where a pale blonde girl sat on the lap of a rather handsome boy that Lily recognized at first glance, who happened to merely be rubbing the girl's arms.

_Amos Diggory_, Lily thought bitterly, a scowl on her face. She turned to Jerrica. "Do you know who she is?" she asked, referring to the pale blonde girl.

Jerrica's once-cheery expression faded into a sad smile. "Of course," she responded. "That girl? For days, I wanted to see her suffer. Come to think of it, I still do."

Selena cocked her head to the side. "Greta Catchlove, isn't it?" she inquired. "The girl that Amos…"

Jerrica nodded slowly. "I can't believe they're still together," she said finally, after a long pause. "Although I suppose those two idiots deserve each other. They can marry and reproduce more prats."

Amos Diggory, the handsome boy, had dated Jerrica from Valentine's Day in sixth year until the first week of seventh year, at which point she caught him cheating on her with Greta Catchlove. Despite the fact that she'd had feelings for Sirius (in the back of her mind, at that point), the fact that someone she had trusted so much had snuck around behind her back was something that broke Jerrica's heart.

"It's quite silly, really," Jerrica continued. "Amos was the one who messed things up, I suppose, because he could have refused Greta… and yet _she's_ the one I want to suffer. I always assumed she would grow up to be a little home wrecker, really."

As the conversation slowly drifted over to Selena and Jerrica once more, Lily turned her attention to the game, although she still could not concentrate. Somehow she knew that Jerrica would seek her revenge.

* * *

Author Note: I'm guessing it's more confusing than I originally intended it to be, and for that, I'm sorry. I hope everyone understood… although there is plenty of explaining to be done in future chapters. Ask any questions if you need to! But give me any feedback you can via review, please! 

Acknowledgements: I am grateful for reviews from the following people- _Auriela, __Embracing, __Blackcoat-245, __Spuds13_, and _BlackCat69_. Thank you so much!


	4. Insufferable Flirts

**AUTHOR NOTE:** It took me a couple of months to update, but I can't say that's my longest record in not updating this story. Anyway, I want to thank everyone who has been reading the story thus far, and especially those who have given it feedback, or a home on their favorites/alerts list. It means a lot to me! I hope you enjoy this chapter. Wishing you the happiest holidays and the best new year!

* * *

**Chapter Four**

"What a game, James!"

"You were amazing, Sirius!"

"Ooh, James… can you flex that bicep for me again?"

_James, you were so brave out there,_ Lily thought to herself both mockingly and bitterly, as she watched a large group of girls crowding around the Head Boy and his best friend after Gryffindor's victory. _May I kiss the ground you walk on?_

Conversation in Lily's neck of the woods was none too stimulating, either.

"There has to be _something_ I can do to make her suffer," Jerrica said quietly, looking over at the undeniably pretty Greta Catchlove, who was busy chatting with a small group of friends. "Does that girl have _any _weaknesses?"

Selena shrugged. "I saw her picking her nose once," she offered. "She thought she was being sneaky, but I guess you can't hide that much green unless you're in Slytherin."

Jerrica grimaced. "Thanks for the fun fact, 'Lena. I think I've lost my appetite."

"You wanted weaknesses." Selena sighed. Then, she smiled, as something had suddenly clicked in her mind. "She also gets jealous easily!" she remembered. "Back in fifth year, when she fancied Xander Edgecombe, and saw him talking to Amelia Bones, Greta started some of the nastiest rumours about her. _And_ she turned plenty of people against her. For a month, Amelia had to sleep in the Ravenclaw Common Room!"

Lily raised an eyebrow, deciding to enter the conversation. "And how do you know all of this?" she asked. "Via rumours, I'm sure?"

Selena shook her head. "No!" she exclaimed. "Amelia herself told me all about it in Herbology."

Jerrica thought for a moment. "So, at least we have a common enemy," she said. "Is Amelia staying for the hols?"

Lily crossed her arms. "What do you honestly expect to do, Jer? Find out who else hates the girl and then conspire against her?"

Her friends ignored her. "I think she's visiting with her family, so if you're going to use her in your plans, you should wait until everyone comes back," Selena said.

Jerrica sighed. "I can't wait that long. I suppose we could use that whole jealousy thing against her. We just need to figure out how."

Lily shook her head. "The two of you are hopeless. Anyway, I've got a lot of work to do, so I'd better go over to the Potter/Black Fan Club and talk to its figurehead. See you at dinner."

As her friends continued to scheme, Lily headed off to James and his mob of girls. She pushed past a few of the nearly-swooning girls so that she could see him.

"It did take a lot of training," Sirius told the girls, tossing them a charming smile, "but I think the results are worth it, don't you?"

The majority of girls present nodded and giggled, dreamy expressions on their faces. Between the two best friends, they had fans from every House. Soon enough, another girl joined the group.

"You looked fantastic out there, James!" Greta Catchlove exclaimed, flipping her blonde locks over her shoulder.

"Why thank you, Greta." James winked at her. "You look rather fantastic yourself."

_Interference! _Lily thought to herself as Amos appeared behind Greta.

"Good game, Potter," Amos told him, shaking his hand and forcing an easygoing expression. It was evident that behind the "friendly" smile, Amos wanted his girlfriend far away from this boy.

"Thanks, Diggory," James said politely. "Playing you lot next month should be a good game, too, for both Houses."

Amos nodded, taking Greta's hand. "We should really get going, Greta," he told her, leading them out of the crowd. "Good day, Potter."

Greta followed Amos, but continued to look back at James longingly, until they disappeared around a corner. James, however, remained completely distracted by the throng of giggling girls until he noticed the one he loved the most.

"Lily!" he exclaimed, turning to face her. "I see you've joined for the festivities. Any questions you'd like to ask your favorite roommate?"

Lily scowled. "We're _not_ roommates, Potter! Besides, I needed to talk to you about something a little more important than your fleeting hour of fame."

James nodded, and turned back to the crowd. "Ladies… this has all been great, but now I need to attend to some official Hogwarts duties with my lovely wife… er… _assistant_ here. Sirius is going to stay, though, so please remember to crowd around him. He needs love, too."

He put his arm around Lily and smiled, leading her out of the mob and down the corridor.

There were murmurs of "What's her problem?" and "Did he just say his WIFE?" and even a call of, "I'll be your roommate, James!" but this didn't stop the Head Boy and Head Girl from leaving the group.

Too tired to fight his arm off of her, Lily sighed. "I'm not your assistant," she told him. _And I'm certainly not lovely_, she added in her mind, but she did not verbalize this. "I'm not your assistant, and I'm not your wife."

James grinned. "Of course not," he said apologetically. "But alas, a man can dream."

"I'd hardly call you a man, James."

"You always hit me where it hurts," he claimed, touching his free hand to his heart. "But this brings me to wondering – when you do this, are you trying to inform me of every weakness I have, or are you just playing hard to get?"

_Both,_ she instinctively thought to herself, but then immediately took it back. Hard to get? Hah- what a thought! Lily wanted nothing more than to stay far, far away from James Adonis Potter. Attracting him was no goal in her mind.

"I'd just hate to see you deceive yourself in that way," Lily answered finally.

"Because maybe you care about me?"

"Because I'd rather avoid repeating this conversation in a week, that's why." She crossed her arms and strayed away from James, whose own arm she had not removed from around her shoulder until now. "At any rate, I needed to talk to you about something that's bigger than you and me right now."

James cocked his head to the side. "Our wedding?"

"Be serious, Potter." For some reason, Lily liked to switch between the Head Boy's first name and his last name. Perhaps it depended on her level of patience at the time, or perhaps it was whichever she felt like calling him. "We need to work on ideas for the New Years' Banquet so that we can start talking to the Decorations Committee, and we have very little time left. I assume you leave Monday for the holidays?"

James shook his head, a grin plastered on his face.

"Really?" Lily raised an eyebrow. "So we have a little more time to work on this, then?"

"You know, I really like that thing you do with your eyebrow." James wiggled his own, and then winked at her. "It's impressive. I wish I could do it the way you do."

Lily felt as though she was talking to a four-year-old child. The difference was, if bribed with a decent choice in sweets, the four-year-old would focus as necessary- whereas bribes might only distract James even more. "Please," she pleaded, trying to keep her patience. "Just… focus. _When_ are you leaving school? I assume you're spending vacation at Peter's this year?"

James beamed. "You've assumed wrong. I'm not going anywhere, love – I'm staying at Hogwarts with you!"

"_Wha-_?" So shocked about this, Lily did not even see the stairs in front of her, nor did she notice the fact that they were currently moving. Thus she tripped and landed flat on her own face.

"No need to sound so excited," James said, grasping Lily's hand tightly and helping her back onto her feet. "Are you all right?" He helped her up the next set of stairs, as they headed to the Head Common Room.

Lily _was _a little sore, and would probably bruise within a day, but she hated to show any signs of pain, physical or emotional. "Nothing life-threatening," she responded, unable to hide a small smile (for reasons she did not know). "I'll be fine."

They reached the portrait hole. "Password?" asked the chubby man in the painting, tilting his top hat.

"_Demiguise disguise_," James answered automatically, and the hole opened. "Are you sure?" he asked again, as they climbed inside.

Lily nodded, wondering why he cared so much about her well-being. It wasn't like it would change the way she generally acted around him.

"I'll be fine," she repeated. "Just fine."

* * *

"Guess who."

The voice came from behind James, but he could not turn around to look because the speaker's hands covered his eyes. It was certainly a female voice- but the females he knew the best were sitting across from him at the Gryffindor table.

"You've got me," James said finally, not willing to guess the many girls in the school that it could be.

"I hope so." The girl took her hands off of James's eyes and sat down next to him, smiling. It was Greta Catchlove. "Hey there, Star Chaser." Her tone was light yet flirtatious- it sounded as though it could float away at any moment.

"Hello, Miss Catchlove," James greeted her with a grin. "What brings you to our table this evening?"

"Yes, the Ravenclaws usually sit over there," Lily butted in to inform her, cocking her head in the direction of the Ravenclaw table. In return, she received a hard nudge in the arm from Jerrica, who seemed perfectly engrossed in this.

Greta sighed. "Company at my usual table is not particularly pleasing. Amos won't shut up about my talking to you earlier. It's like he's jealous or something."

_So you're trying to resolve this conflict by annoying him even more?_ Lily was tempted to say, but she bit her tongue.

James patted Greta on the back. "No offense to your boyfriend, but he sounds really high-strung to worry about something like that."

Greta shook her head. "Oh, but he's not my boyfriend," she told James, causing Jerrica to gasp. They turned to her.

"Sorry." Jerrica tried to cover the fact that she was paying attention to their conversation. "It's just that… I never knew that the potatoes at Hogwarts were this good. Mmmm." She shoved a forkful in her mouth to keep from sticking her foot there.

James laughed and turned back to Greta. "I don't understand – I thought you and Amos were, well…"

Greta smirked. "We were," she admitted. "I actually broke up with him a little after the Quidditch game today. He was just too… clingy, you know?"

James furrowed his brow. "Pity to hear that," he said, trying to sound impartial in case she was saying this in hopes of his friends eavesdropping.

"Not really," Greta replied, moving closer to him. "I'm off to better things." She winked at him, and he smiled. A girl who knew what she wanted. "I'd better get back to my table," she said after a slight pause. "Just wanted to say hello." Softly and slowly, she kissed him on the cheek – something she had never done, them being strictly acquaintances – and headed back to the Ravenclaw table.

"What a girl, mate, eh?" Sirius nudged James and grinned. "I wonder what _better things_ she was talking about." He wiggled his eyebrows.

"Oh, yes, you lucky boy," Lily added, entering the conversation in a sarcastic tone. "How'd you score such an incredible find?"

"That's what _I'm_ wondering!" Sirius laughed, actually believing Lily to be on the same page as them.

"Lily," Jerrica addressed her friend suddenly. "Selena. Come with me to the bathroom for a minute, would you?"

Wordlessly, the girls stood up and headed out of the Great Hall, barely catching Remus's quiet "Why must girls go off in groups?" and Sirius's continued laughter.

* * *

With Jerrica leading the way, the girls reached the bathroom and entered.

"You didn't really have to go, did you?" Lily asked, recognizing the reason why they chose _this_ particular bathroom and so quickly. This was a bathroom that most other girls disliked ever using, and often avoided at all costs – therefore, the three girls who had entered now would use it whenever they wished not to be overheard. Who would hear them except…?

"Oh, you're here," came the pouting voice from in front of them. It was Moaning Myrtle. "Are you here to talk about _boys_ again?"

"Sort of," Jerrica answered shortly, but before she could speak with her friends, Myrtle spoke up again.

"Boys are cruel, really," she whimpered. "There was this one boy, Timothy, who used to steal my glasses when I was a poor little first year."

"I'm sorry, Myrtle," Lily said this time, her voice revealing perhaps a touch of actual sorrow for the ghostly girl. For some reason, she was always more patient and tolerant around Moaning Myrtle, sometimes more so than around her own friends. "Boys are certainly pests. Our seventh year at Hogwarts and we've certainly learned that. Jerrica, what boy-related topic did you drag us here to discuss, anyway?"

Selena nodded. "Yes, Jer, what is it? I'm beginning to want those potatoes you were raving about."

Jerrica crossed her arms. "You aren't going to believe me, but I think I've thought up the _perfect_ revenge on Greta Catchlove."

* * *

Author Note: Well? I'd like to know what you think of this chapter! As for Chapter 3, my acknowledgments go out to _embracing_, _Auriela_, _Spuds13_, _sarah_, _BlackCat69_, _BEATLESROCKSODOESHP_, _sweetblonde13_, and _Beauxbatons-Girl_. Your reviews mean a lot! Happy reading! 


	5. The Plan

**Author Note:** After a two-month hiatus, I'm back! Hopefully my updates will be less few and far between… and that you'll be hearing more from me soon. Chapter 4 was a success, it seems – let's see how Chapter 5 goes! Let me know what you think… and if I take way too long to update again, please send me a private message to let me know. Thank you, and enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Five**

"No, no, and no!" Lily barked, crossing her arms in annoyance. "I won't do it!"

Jerrica sighed. "Just for a little while, Lil… please?" She pouted to look like a puppy dog, her eyes widened for effect. "For me?"

Lily shook her head. "Absolutely not! Leave me out of your crazed plans!"

"If you asked me to do something like this for you, I would in a heartbeat," Jerrica responded, knowing that guilt always persuaded even the most stubborn of people. "That's what best friends do."

Lily laughed bitterly. "Don't forget that, as your best friend, I know your mode of manipulation. Look, if you didn't require me to do something so degrading, then perhaps I'd say yes. In fact, I'd _probably_ say yes. But you're asking me to play the key role in a scheme that can do more harm than good."

"I've thought this one out, Lily," Jerrica replied. "And what harm could it do? Other than," she added as an afterthought, "to Greta, of course…"

"Listen to yourself!" Lily exclaimed, clearly annoyed at the persistence of the topic. "Your ex-boyfriend, for whom you really don't have feelings anymore, cheated on you with Greta. _Months_ later, you decide you want Greta – not Amos, but _Greta_ – to pay the consequences. Greta has been acting an insufferable flirt around James, so you think that if _I _show an interest in James, Greta will suffer for all eternity."

Jerrica groaned. "I hate it when you put things in perspective." She shook her head. "Lily, James is infatuated with you, anyway. He'll go for a fling with a girl if she's pretty and will wink at him the right way. You're already there… except for that winking part, I don't really know. That's not the point. If you could at least _feign interest_ in James for a little while – spend some time with him, ask him to the New Years' Banquet - , you'd be able to distract him enough from Greta. When Greta sees that she can't get what she wants, she'll give up. And my life will be complete."

"She _does_ have a point," Selena chimed in from her spot in the corner.

"At least someone supports me."

Lily sighed. "I want to support you, Jer. I really do. But this plan…"

"… is not up to par?" Jerrica guessed, trying to complete the sentence. "What do _you_ suggest I do?"

"It's just that you _haven't_ completely thought this one out, no matter how much you say you have. What happens if Greta lashes out at _me_?"

"She won't," Jerrica said knowingly, though she truly did not know. "She might threaten never to speak to you again, but the two of you were never friends anyway."

"And," Lily added, "how is James going to believe it when I'm suddenly nice to him?"

Jerrica cocked her head in thought. "I dunno… I thought he'd just take it willingly, I guess."

"What happens when this is all over?" Lily asked. "How will I be able to escape James then?"

Jerrica frowned. "Maybe you're right," she said, defeated.

Lily suddenly revealed a small smile. "I'm definitely right!" she responded, a touch of laughter to her voice. "Jerrica, I will do this for you, only because you're a good friend."

Jerrica grinned. "You will!" she exclaimed, thrusting her arms around Lily in a big hug. "Honestly?"

"On two conditions," Lily responded, giving the scout's honor symbol. "One – never drag me into any half-baked schemes like this _again_."

"Of course not!" Jerrica laughed. "I will make positively sure that our next scheme is completely baked. _Scorched_, even. What's the other condition?"

Lily's smile widened. "When you and Sirius get married, _do_ allow me to choose my own date."

With a few farewells and a "Don't forget to break his heart!" from Moaning Myrtle, who had been listening in on the entire conversation, the three friends left the bathroom and headed back for the Great Hall. Dinner was probably near over, but they could at least forage for the little remainder of food that was left.

Lily took their walk from the bathroom to the Great Hall as a time for reflection, tuning out Jerrica's endless chatter of gratitude and scheming. She knew Jerrica had a fragile heart, and that the whole incident between Amos and Greta had, emotionally, near killed her. If this scheme had been planned to benefit anyone other than Jerrica (even Selena), Lily would never agree to it. But she had seen her best friend crying over this event, had offered her Head Girl dormitory many a night so that all the girls of Gryffindor wouldn't see her at her worst.

She did _not_ want to go out of her way to spend time with James, but she tried to plan her next few weeks in the best way possible. She would show more civility to him than usual, and she would keep him distracted from Greta by actually being somewhat nice. Lily would never stand to have a real relationship with James, but perhaps if she could make him believe in the possibility until Greta was defeated, then she could merely play hard-to-get and play it off well.

At least Lily did not have to worry about growing attached.

* * *

"Checkmate!" James exclaimed, a grin on his face. He watched the chessboard as his queen beat the rest of Lily's chess pieces to a pulp. "I win again. When will you just _admit_ that I'm the King?"

Lily did not want to spend her evening playing Wizard's Chess with the Head Boy. To be honest, she would not care to spend her evening playing Wizard's Chess with the _Minister of Magic_. It was a game she despised. Although she was good at strategizing, she had difficulty with chess… even of the Muggle variety. James, on the other hand, actually fared well with this game, considering it one of his favorites.

"The King of _what_?" she retorted, unable to control herself. "Arrogance?"

Sometimes their banter drove her off the wall. Other times, it was the only thing tolerable about their situation.

"Nah, that's Lucius Malfoy you're confusing me with." James smiled. "I'm the King of Good Looks." He set the chessboard aside.

Lily smirked in response. "Ah, yes… of the Land of Good Looks. Population… 1?"

James rumpled his hair. "Very funny, Evans," he laughed. "Be nice and I'll let you be my Queen. If we play our cards right, our son will be swooned upon by all the princesses in the world."

"Aren't we the _optimist_?" Lily raised her eyebrows.

Surprisingly, Lily had been the one to suggest their spending time together. Of course it was for the plan, but she told James they had gotten a lot of Banquet work covered before dinner and that they ought to relax in celebration of actually getting work done without hurting anyone. So far they'd played five games of Wizard's Chess, all of which Lily had lost, and the games were beginning to lose their intrigue even for James.

James winked at Lily. "Why _shouldn't_ I be happy about a future like that?"

Lily shook her head. "You're hopeless."

"No." James laughed. "I'm an _optimist_."

Lily smacked his arm. "More like an idealist."

"Because I'm the ideal match for you?" James tossed a throw-pillow at the Head Girl. He touched his arm where it had been hit. "You're lucky this isn't my Chaser arm."

"Since when does James Potter even _have_ a Chaser arm?"

"That depends." For the first time that night, James really looked into Lily's eyes. "Since when does Lily Evans want to spend her spare time with the King of Good Looks?"

"I don't," Lily answered abruptly, giving James a small smile. "I just thought that while we planned our arranged marriage we might as well name our first born." _I'm pushing my limits,_ she thought to herself, inwardly annoyed at how friendly she was starting to come off. _And he's not going to believe another word of it._

James shrugged. "We'll name him James, of course," he answered casually, with no thought to it whatsoever. "A good, strong name… just like its namesake." He beamed.

"And you're positive that you're not the King of Arrogance?" Lily rolled her eyes. "Who's to say it wouldn't be a girl?"

"All of the first born Potters are males," James informed her. "Didn't you get the owl memo?"

"Oh, sure, but I discarded it along with the stack of letters entitled 'Not Worth My Time.'" Lily crossed her arms. "I hate when people name their children after themselves… it's completely narcissistic. If you insist on the name 'James,' at least make it the middle name." She wondered why she'd engaged enough to go on with the conversation this far.

"I guess I've always liked the name Harold…" James trailed off, noting the fact that Lily had just wrinkled her nose. "What? Not good enough for the Queen?"

Lily shook her head. "The name reminds me of a bologna sandwich. Or some sort of rotten lunchmeat." Lily was not a vegetarian, but with the exception of chicken she may as well have been.

"Point taken," James laughed. "You're so funny sometimes, it's incredible. I don't think I've ever linked a name to lunchmeat before… except maybe Hamlet."

Lily shrugged. "I just don't care for names that remind me of porcine. Or of any animal, really."

"So are you saying you don't want our daughter to be named Giselle because it reminds you of a 'gazelle'?" James asked.

"Something like that, except gazelles are obviously more graceful than pigs." Lily paused. "But it's mostly because I hate the name Harold and it reminds me of a bologna sandwich. I hate bologna."

"Anything you _don't_ hate?" James joked.

Lily thought for a moment. "Lilies," she admitted, her voice sincere. "The flower I was named for, obviously. I think they're extraordinary."

"_You're_ extraordinary," James muttered, a sly expression on his face.

Lily did not hear him. "What?"

James, appearing somewhat bashful for once, shook his head. "No… I was just agreeing with you about the flowers."

"Right." Lily shook her head. "James Potter likes flowers, of all things."

James smiled. "And Lily Evans likes… well, she actually likes _something_. She just has to steer clear of animal names and bologna. And anybloke named Harold." He thought for a moment. "What about the name Harry? It's like a personalized, pet-name version of Harold. At least if it reminds you of bologna, it's not an entire sandwich-worth… maybe only half a slice."

Lily laughed in spite of herself. "Harry is a much nicer name, now that you mention it. It certainly does not remind me of anything animal-related."

James nodded. "So it's settled. Our son will be Harry James Potter."

"Oh, right- I'll be sure to send out the baby shower invitations first thing tomorrow," Lily responded sarcastically.

"No kidding?" James grinned at her. "Make sure you use my scarlet and gold stationery when you do. Everyone loves a Gryffindor baby."

Lily raised her eyebrows. "I can't wait," she said with a smirk.

And even though the entire conversation was nonsense… and Lily had only started it in honor of Jerrica's cause… and James was getting way too ahead of himself… Lily had to, at least inwardly, admit that a part of her did _not_ hate it one bit.

* * *

**Acknowledgments:** I would like to thank the following people for their feedback on Chapter 4… _Blackcat69, audreyblaine, tee hee, Beauxbatons-Girl, Heaven and Earth, sweetblonde13, Auriela, embracing, Katsy15, Lady Radcliffe,_ and _Curry Curran_! Your reviews mean a lot to me. I'm glad you're enjoying and hope you continue to do so! 


	6. Young Love Never Prevails

**Author's Note:** I'm glad to see that Chapter 5 was a success! I love writing this story… it's amazing how sane writing out Lily and James's mindless banter can make me feel. I hope you enjoy this one. Be proud of me- it's only been nine days since my last update. Let me know what you think!

* * *

**Chapter Six**

"Well, good morning, Sunshine."

Lily awoke with a start. _This is not my room,_ she thought to herself, looking around as she realized she was reclined on a Head Common Room couch. The chess pieces from the previous evening remained untouched. _What am I doing in here?_ Looking to the chair across from her, she spotted James grinning at her.

"Potter, what's going on?" she demanded.

"Isn't it obvious?" James laughed. "After our wild night of–"

"We did _not _have a wild night of anything!" Lily exclaimed. "What in the world…?"

"Let me finish, won't you? After our wild night of wedding planning and baby naming, we were clearly both exhausted and ended up falling asleep around the same time."

Another question came to mind. "How, may I ask, are you awake before I am? Usually it takes you until noon to wake up on your own." Lily sat up straight and tried to flatten her hair.

James cackled deviously. "I hate to burst your bubble, darling, but it's nearly noon right now!"

Lily's eyes widened. "What?" She jumped up off the couch to check the time. _He's not lying,_ she thought to herself in anguish, noting that it was already eleven forty-five. They had missed breakfast! "How could I have possibly overslept?" She asked herself out loud.

"You were too busy fantasizing about me?" James suggested, winking at her. "Don't be bashful… you're not the first girl to oversleep for that reason."

Lily _had_ slept peacefully… but certainly not because she was dreaming about James. In fact, she had not dreamed of anyone, not even Remus – the boy she most wanted to be with. "No offense, James, but arrogant prats really aren't my type," she told him. "Why don't you try a Slytherin? Those girls would be crawling all over you." She headed toward the stairs to her dormitory.

James mockingly touched his hand to his heart. "But Lily," he called out to her, "we were going to have a life together!"

"Yes," Lily said. "It was very short-lived, wasn't it?"

"We named our first child!"

"I decided the last name wasn't to my liking," Lily responded, crossing her arms.

James crossed his arms. "I am the only person who knows your feelings for bologna and people named Harold!"

"I lied," Lily lied.

"I thought what we had was special!"

"Young love never prevails."

"Ours will." James smiled. "I'll wait for you, Lily Evans." He blew her a kiss.

Lily shook her head and headed upstairs quickly to wash up for the day. She did not want James to see that she was trying not to smile.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Lily hurried into the Great Hall for lunch, with James trailing behind her. Finding their friends, the two sat down quickly in their usual seats.

"So," Sirius greeted them, "I can see your evening was an eventful one." He winked.

"Don't be a pervert, Sirius," Jerrica said, kicking him under the table. She turned to Lily. Though she said nothing, her eyes were begging for an explanation.

Lily sighed. "I can honestly say that I overslept," she responded. "I don't know how that happened, but it's true."

"Maybe it's because you were so busy last night…" Sirius gave her a mischievous smile.

"Leave her alone!" James snapped at Sirius, his cheeks flushing slightly. _Only I'm allowed to tease her like that,_ he thought to himself, slightly possessively.

_Did James just defend me?_ Lily wondered, completely baffled yet thankful for this sudden outburst. She was silent.

"Sorry, Jamesy… didn't think _you'd_ get so touchy," Sirius grumbled. "He's just upset because he didn't get any," he added in whisper to Remus, who merely rolled his eyes and whispered back, "You're hopeless, Padfoot."

After about a minute of awkward silence, Selena finally spoke up, with a change in subject. "Lily, your owl brought you some mail this morning, so I took it for you." She handed Lily a stack of papers.

"Thanks, 'Lena," Lily replied, checking through the pile for anything interesting. There was a _Daily Prophet_, some coupons for Honeydukes', a belated birthday card from her cousins (her birthday was in October), and a letter from her mother. She opened the envelope to read.

_Dearest Lily,_

_Your father and I miss you so, and wish you would have chosen to come down for the holidays. We understand that you have a lot to do as Head Girl, but we hardly see you any more! Please consider visiting during Easter._

_Petunia is down from college and, between you and me, I'm not all that thrilled. I love your sister dearly, but that boyfriend of hers is a nightmare. They have only been here for a day, and already Vernon has nearly eaten our entire kitchen. I understand that boys of even twenty years need their strength, but I have been to the grocery store ten times since their arrival, to the point where I know all of the cashiers by name. Petunia is becoming rather skinny… I think she lets this Dursley fellow eat _her_ food, as well._

_Perhaps I am being too judgmental, but I have tried in vain to like this boy and I am hardly succeeding. Unfortunately Petunia tells me that she and Vernon have an important announcement to make, and I'm praying this announcement does not involve marriage. However, they are wearing matching rings, so this announcement cannot be good._

_I hope everything at Hogwarts is going well, and that that boy James (his name _is_ James, isn't it?) has stopped bothering you. I'll write a note to the Headmaster if you want me to. Do me a favor, love, and only date the nice boys._

_Your father and I are very proud of you!_

_Much love,_

_Mum_

Lily set the letter down and sighed. She had met Vernon Dursley more than once, and he was one of the most unpleasant people she had ever known. He seemed to care for Petunia, which Lily supposed was the most important thing in the relationship, but other than that, he was rude and loud and he didn't seem to think of anyone but himself. Lily hated that.

Ever since she had attended Hogwarts, Lily had continued to grow apart from Petunia, but until Vernon came into the picture, the two sisters at least got along well enough. After the couple had gotten together, however, Petunia and Lily had some of their worst arguments ever. Through it all, she always thought in the corner of her mind that at least this phase would be over, give or take a few months.

Six months later, her mother had suggested that Petunia and Vernon might marry. What might this do for the family? Lily wanted to cry just thinking about all of this, but sitting at the table surrounded by her friends, she simply could not do it.

"What is it?" James joked. "You didn't send out baby shower invitations yet, did you?" He referred to the previous night's conversation.

"It's a little more serious than that," Lily replied, piling her mail the way it had been. "I have to go." She stood up, took her things, and headed out of the Great Hall.

* * *

"Lily, what happened?"

Jerrica and Selena stood behind their friend, who sat by the lake sobbing. They had followed her out here, only to find a completely ripped-up letter floating in the water.

Lily turned around, her eyes red and puffy, and patted the ground on either side next to her for her two friends to sit down. She wiped any tears from her cheeks and took a deep breath. "My mum's letter," she confided. "She thinks Petunia and Vernon are getting engaged."

"Oh, no, he's the fat bloke you don't like?" Selena asked for clarification. Lily nodded.

"Merlin, that's terrible!" Jerrica exclaimed, putting her arm around Lily's shoulders in comfort. "Does she know for sure?"

Lily shook her head. "They were going to make an important announcement, though, and they're wearing matching rings. Oh…" The tears began to flow again. "It's just that… he's so horrible, you know?"

"We know." Jerrica sighed.

"Petunia and I were fairly close before she started with Vernon," said Lily between sniffles. "And we've really begun drifting apart over the past six months… but I thought it was just a phase. Now I'm losing a sister!" She took a pebble from the ground and tossed it at the water in distress.

"It'll be all right," Jerrica said to her, patting her friend on the back. "Really, you'll see."

"Besides," Selena added, "you have us."

* * *

**Acknowledgements:** At this time, I would like to thank _sweetblonde13, Heaven and Earth, Mademoiselle Ashley Brooke, Auriela, GoodStories, mediator girl, Niamara, BlackCat69, embracing, _and _Curry Curran _for their reviews. Thank you for reading – hope you continue! 


	7. Alone and Lonely

**Author Note: **I know I promised I wouldn't delay so much between chapters, but I have a _reason_. (As I always do, of course!) I added the previous chapter the weekend before my cheerleading intramurals began, and so for an entire week I was endlessly working on perfecting the routines, while still being able to finish my homework. I had to catch up on the work I put off during the past week, and so now I'm finally finding the time to write a new chapter. (By the way… I made the Varsity team!) I'm glad you all have been reading so loyally – I hope you continue to do so! I know it's a hasty chapter… there should be more substance to the next one. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

"Hey, Lils."

Lily looked up to see Remus standing behind her, shuffling his feet. She nodded in acknowledgment and patted the ground next to her, motioning for him to come forward. "Hey, yourself."

After Jerrica and Selena had comforted her by the lake for a long while, Lily told her friends to enjoy their day – that she wanted to be alone for a little longer and would find them later. Of course, she had not anticipated the appearance of her favorite Prefect.

"You left us fairly quickly at breakfast earlier," Remus said, taking a seat beside the Head Girl. "I want to apologize on behalf of Sirius… he really didn't mean to offend you. His brain just functions off sexual innuendos."

Lily smiled softly. "Thanks for the thought, Remus, but that wasn't the reason I left this morning… although I do find those innuendos rather annoying…"

Remus returned the smile. "Just remember, he's male, so of course he's liable to say perverted things and get away with them…"

"Well, that explains nearly every boy in this school," Lily laughed quietly. She turned to really look at Remus. "Every boy except for you."

"How do _you_ know?" Remus joked, giving her a wink. "Just because I'm not vocalizing it every five minutes…" He trailed off, noticing the sadness in Lily's eyes was still present. "Is everything all right?" he asked, his voice suddenly serious.

Lily hugged her knees close to her chest and sighed. "It's my sister," she admitted. "My mum thinks Petunia might be engaged to her complete prat of a boyfriend, and he's been the reason for some of our worst fights yet."

Remus did not know what to say to this. "I'm sorry," he told her finally. "At least _you're_ not the one marrying him, though, right?"

Lily released a bitter laugh. "Could you imagine? I should like to think I'm better than that." She paused. "_Merlin_, my sister is better than that! How could she choose a man with no scruples whatsoever?"

Remus thought for a moment. "Is he good looking?"

Lily shook her head immediately. "Only if the beefy sort of bloke who could crush you with a single handshake… and I'm fairly sure my sister should know what a good catch is."

"Maybe, in some twisted way, this boyfriend is actually the perfect match for her?"

"I don't know. I hope he's not, but then I hope they're happy together." Lily sighed, not entirely sure of how she felt. "I just don't want her to end up with the wrong person."

"Right," Remus nodded.

"I hope I never eventually become blind like that," Lily continued, not realizing how talkative she could be at times. "I hope that, when I need to, I'll know who the right person is."

"Don't worry," Remus told her sincerely. "You'll know." He looked at her and smiled.

Lily returned the smile, thinking it meant something special; a secret between friends, or perhaps something more. Glancing quickly down at the ground, she placed her hand on his, in all hopes that he would…

"I have to go." Remus pulled his hand away suddenly, and stood up. "We'll… er… we'll talk later. Feel better." He gave her an awkward smile and headed off in the other direction.

_That's not what I was hoping for,_ Lily thought to herself, unsure of what she had done wrong. Had she come on at all too strong? She reached for a pebble on the ground and sighed, skipping it across the lake.

* * *

Reclined on her Head Commons couch, Lily tried in vain to catch up on her reading. She had reread the same sentence for about twenty minutes now; she just could not concentrate. Between thoughts of Petunia's possible engagement and Remus's odd exeunt from the lake earlier that day, Lily's mind was flooded with much more than merely words on a page.

Suddenly, the bathroom door opened, and Lily could detect a humming voice. She looked up from her book to see a cloud of steam, followed by a certain Head Boy. Lily could not help but notice James's appearance – obviously having just taken a shower, his hair was tousled and wet, and he wore no shirt – merely a pair of boxers (complete with the Gryffindor emblem) and an untied matching bathrobe.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Over these past two days I have seen more of you than I'd like to, Potter," she informed him in greeting, sitting up straight.

James glanced over at her and grinned. "Have you, now?" he asked. Taking an arm out of his robe sleeve for a brief moment, James flexed his bicep, and then returned the robe to the way it was before. "Anything else you'd like to see?"

"Your triceps could use a little toning," Lily responded, trying to stay as critical as possible. In reality, he was not that bad. "And your abdominals are not as defined as they should be."

"Get used to it, darling." James winked at Lily. "This is what you'll be waking up to every day for the rest of your life."

"Not if I leave you at the altar." Lily marked the page she left off from in her book, and set it down on the table.

James laughed and took a seat next to her on the couch. He rumpled his hair. "Hey, if it takes us a few tries to get it right, I will marry you as many times as you'd like. I can't guarantee a new ring each time, but…"

Lily gave him a small smile. "What if I never said yes?" she inquired. "What if it all was for nothing?"

"Ah, but you _would_ eventually say yes!" James exclaimed, clapping his hands. "In good time, I would make you fall head over heels in love with me, and after the fiftieth engagement, we would finally get married."

Lily shook her head. "You seem to have a lot of faith in yourself, you know."

"I know," James told her with a nod, "but that's because I'm half-Seer." He kept a completely straight face for about five seconds, then burst into laughter.

"Oh, yes?" Lily crossed her arms. She decided to ask something that she had been wondering, and hoped she wouldn't come off as a fool. "What do you see yourself doing tonight?" She wanted to ask him if he would play Wizard's Chess or something of that sort later, as they had done the night before, because embarrassingly enough, she had enjoyed it.

James's grin faded. "I'm meeting someone in a little while," he said seriously. "Greta Catchlove, you know, from Ravenclaw… I promised to teach her Quidditch."

"Really." Lily looked down at the ground, mortified for having even asked. It was none of her business; James was just going to be off with another one of his obnoxious female friends. "How is that going to work?"

"Well, I suppose I'll see if we can borrow Sirius's broom to let Greta use, and since I'm Quidditch Captain anyway I have access to all the equipment." James turned to really look at her.

"Just don't knock her up, then," Lily advised, and then in realizing what she said, blushed profusely. "I mean, don't knock her _off._ Er… have fun on your date."

"Oh, I don't know if I would call it that," James said, offering her a small smile. "_You're _still my leading lady, Lily Evans."

And once he left for his non-date, Lily felt very much alone.

* * *

**Acknowledgements: **I would like to give my utmost gratitude to _sweetblonde13, - Miss UndRstOOd -, Heaven and Earth, BlackCat69, Curry Curran, darkdolphins, Rubber-duckiesofdoom, Auriela, _and _Katsy15_. Hope you enjoy Chapter 7! 


	8. A Change in Scenery

**Author Note:** Hiatus much? I have another solid excuse, and it's _good_ – I was in Europe. That's right… during the time I'd normally be posting new chapters, I was touring through France, Spain, and Italy, and having the time of my life. I'm still newly home, and therefore it might take a while for me to reach my normal updating mode. (Remember – I have _four_ stories I'm working on!) Either way… get ready for a (possibly surprising) new installment. Also… the last chapter received a _ton_ of feedback, so I wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone who reviewed! I hope you enjoy this one!

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

"Has Lily been acting a little strange to you?" Remus asked, biting his lip.

Selena set down her History of Magic text and sighed. She had been meeting with Remus weekly so that he would tutor her in her weaker subjects, and did not want to focus on other issues. The marks she earned this year would determine the rest of her life… and, not being a wonderful student, she wanted to do _something_ to prove herself.

Even if that meant studying during the holidays.

"Cut her some slack… she's going through a lot," Selena said in her friend's defense, twisting a blonde strand of hair. "You know… with her sister and all. So, wait, it was Wanda the Weird who burned at the stake forty-seven times?" She reverted back to her History study. She should have learned about the witch trials in her third year, but at that point, her future did not mean as much to her as it did now.

"Wendelin," Remus corrected her. "It was Wendelin the Weird."

"Bloody hell," Selena said with a sigh. "I never seem to get that one."

"Has she said anything about me?" Remus changed the subject, sounding a little panicked.

"I'd hope not!" Selena exclaimed. "The only ghosts I've talked to are Peeves and Nearly Headless Nick."

Remus resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "I don't mean Wendelin the Weird, 'Lena! I'm talking about Lily."

"Oh." Selena knew they probably would not get much work done tonight. She was not sure how to answer the boy… either she could say 'yes' and find out that Remus did not fancy the Head Girl, or she could say 'no' and find out that he did. "Why do you ask… do you _want _her to say something about you?" she responded finally.

"I'm just wondering, is all…"

"Did something happen between the two of you?" Selena crossed her arms. Sure, she was a few lacewing flies short of a Polyjuice Potion, but Selena was not completely _daft_, either.

"I don't know… I don't think so…" Remus felt completely confused. "I don't know how she feels about me, but I think she's under the impression I might fancy her…" He ran a hand through his hair nervously.

"And… do you?" Selena looked at him, and saw something in his eyes that she had never seen before. _Snap out of it, _she scolded herself. _You know how Lily feels about him._ Lately, though she would never admit to it, she had really taken a liking to Remus, but did not want to act on these feelings or even share them with her closest friends. Hopefully they would wear off soon.

Remus shook her head. "She's my friend, you know? We can have an intelligent conversation and she makes me laugh. When she and James are at it, I'm always interested in how she's going to reject him that day. Sometimes I can guess what she's going to say."

"So…?" Selena trailed off. She could not understand what the problem was.

"So, we're compatible," Remus concluded. "Really, truly compatible. But only as friends."

"Why's that?"

Remus sighed. "I guess it's the way I feel when we're together. She doesn't give me that sensation you're supposed to endure when you're young and in love and ready for anything. My heart doesn't beat any faster when I see her. My head doesn't start spinning when I hear her voice. I care about her – a lot – but if I had to, I could survive without her."

Inwardly, Selena winced at these words. _Harsh,_ she thought to herself, glad that she was the only person in the room to hear it. She could never share this confession with Lily; the outwardly coldhearted girl would be crushed.

She decided to defend Lily's honor one last time for the night. "How do you know that?" she asked. "How can you know that love _isn't_ just being able to talk to someone, being able to understand them and enjoy their company?"

"Because," Remus revealed, "I've felt the difference… and I know what it's like when you have that spark with someone else. For the longest time, I've had these feelings for a girl I love as more than a friend, more than a conversationalist." He knew it was a risk, but he took Selena's hand and looked into her big blue eyes. "Selena… my feelings are for you."

* * *

Lily sat alone in the Head Common Room, right where James had left her, creating the false illusion of her nose in a book. She _had_ been trying to read for the past hour or so, but was still on the same page on which she started. It was difficult to concentrate with a lot on the mind.

She had never felt as much alone as she did now. Lily knew that Selena was busy with tutoring from Remus, so she did not want to intrude, and that Sirius had invited Jerrica to spend some time together, since they had hardly done so lately. What was _she_ going to do tonight?

_I almost _miss_ James,_ Lily thought to herself, annoyed for these feelings. While it was true that James had the capability of driving her to wit's end, Lily also knew that when it came to nights like this, James was always there to keep her company. Tonight, the night in which she would have actually appreciated it, the Head Boy had a date… with a girl that Lily and her friends had sort of conspired against. _I can't believe I near asked him to stay here with me._

As if on cue, the portrait hole opened and James arrived, panting out of breath. With his hair messier than usual, as though windswept, it was apparent that either James had just experienced a _much_ more than friendly date, or he had run all the way up here.

Judging by the mere hour he had been gone, Lily could only assume it had to be the latter.

"What are you doing back so soon?" Lily asked him bluntly, though a part of her was thrilled. She _really _did not want to be alone. "Did you grow sick of showing Greta which end of the broomstick is which?"

"Down, Tiger," James laughed, catching his breath. "Let's just say I realized – albeit a little late – that I was in the wrong place with the wrong person."

"So you decided to skip out on your Quidditch date?" Lily inquired, standing up from the couch. "Lack of personality has never stopped you from spending time with a girl before…"

"Yeah, well…" James looked at his feet. Could he be… blushing? "It's not every day the girl of your dreams actually wants to spend time with you, either."

The girl of his dreams? Now it was Lily's turn to blush. She was never like this… never this sentimental pile of goo… so why was she coming across that way now?

"That's… that's sweet, James," Lily responded finally, trying not to melt. What _was_ it with her? She was starting to feel bad that this was still somewhat part of the revenge-against-Greta plan. James had, after all, ditched their date to be with her. "Er… what do we do now?"

James smiled. He felt as though he had finally cracked the shell that was Lily… at least a little bit. She had not yet told him off or yelled at him for showing he cared about her. But how did she feel about him? She was incredibly hard to read sometimes…

"I've got a plan," he told her, heading for the stairs. "Wait here for a moment." He ran up to his dormitory and, less than a moment later, came down holding a red cloak that Lily had never seen before.

"We're going to a masquerade?" Lily guessed, seeing as all James needed now was a mask. Then again, she needed an entire outfit.

"It was supposed to be a surprise!" James gave a mock-pout. "Now I guess we'll have to settle for something less." Suddenly, without warning, James pulled Lily close to him and wrapped the cloak around them.

_What the hell…,_ Lily thought to herself, exclaiming, "Hey! What's the big idea, Potter?"

James chuckled softly. "Relax, Lily… it's an Invisibility Cloak."

_Oh._ "And what, may I ask, are we doing in an Invisibility Cloak?" she demanded. Where had he even gotten it?

"Something that we should have done ages ago," James told her, wiggling his eyebrows. "It's called _sneaking out_."

"What?" Lily crossed her arms, though she remained under the cloak. "We can't do that… we're supposed to set an example for the other students!"

"How many other students have you seen around here, Lily? Most of them have gone home, anyway – and I doubt my friends or yours will _really_ care. Besides," he added, "we've worked hard this year. We deserve some fun."

"Staying here and playing chess would suffice," Lily lied.

James shook his head. "Not even you believe that. Come on… I know all the secret passageways, and we'll be back before you know it. If you're still worked up about it, we can play chess when we get back. You wouldn't want my bailing on a perfectly good date to have been in vain, would you?" He gave her the puppy dog eyes.

Lily sighed. "Score one for Potter," she mumbled, and allowed the Head Boy to take her hand and lead her from the Commons down to the statue of the one-eyed witch. Expecting an impressive entrance, she shut her eyes tight throughout the entire journey until James whispered in her ear, "We're here."

Lily opened her eyes to see that they were just outside of Honeydukes', which was bustling with business from extremely young children and their parents. She had never seen Hogsmeade before without the village being filled to the brim with Hogwarts students. She liked it this way.

With the sky darkening, the shops were brightly-lit, something that Lily had also never seen here before. Some of the owners had already decorated for the holiday season, using both simple and exquisite ornaments alike.

"It's beautiful at night," Lily said finally, really gazing around to appreciate her surroundings.

Carefully hidden by a tree, James removed the Invisibility Cloak and carried it in his arms. Lily noticed how close they had been standing to one another (in order to keep the cloak _on_, of course) and inched away. Together they headed out from behind the tree and onto the cobblestone road.

"It's a little chilly out," James said. "Want to get a butterbeer?"

Suddenly, Lily was once again aware of the fact that they were not supposed to be here.

"It wouldn't be prudent to go in _anywhere_," Lily responded, her voice quieter. "I think we should go back to the castle."

"Don't worry about it, Lily. Nothing is going to happen… I promise."

"But," Lily protested, "Madam Rosmerta will be sure to recognize us. We're going to get caught!"

"Ever wonder where I sneak off to, Lily?" James crossed his arms. "This is the place. I do this all the time… I know what I'm doing."

"We're going to get in a bloody lot of trouble!"

"Just enjoy the change in scenery and relax, would you?" James wished the girl would have a more laidback attitude in this situation.

"No, James," Lily retorted, annoyed that she'd let him talk her into coming. Since when had she followed Potter's half-baked schemes in the past? "I won't relax." She wagged her finger at him, and her green eyes flashed.

James merely watched Lily in amusement. He wished she would be slightly more cooperative, but blimey- despite her rage, she was adorable when angry. Part of him wanted to instigate her even more.

"This whole idea," Lily continued, taking a step closer to James, "was just _stupid_! It was _stupid_, and _immature_, and _completely_ –" The expression in her eyes transformed from exasperation to bewilderment as she was interrupted by a pair of lips on hers.

Instead of pushing James away, or slapping him like she normally would think to do, Lily closed her eyes and let him pull her into a longer, deeper kiss than the innocent one he had initially began. Though she would hate to admit it, he was easily the best kisser she had ever locked lips with… willingly or not.

She had no urge to break the kiss, so – to the astonishment of both parties – James was the one to end things before they became too kid-unfriendly. Lily blushed profusely, grateful that hardly anyone had seen them, and she was suddenly speechless. _What did I just do?_ She wondered to herself. _Why did that just happen?_

"You should know," James said finally, in attempt to break the awkward silence. "I like fiery redheads." He had said these words to her for the first time when they had just met, but that time, he received a slap. This time, he received a small smile. "Come on," he told her, putting an arm around Lily's shoulder, "let's get you a butterbeer. I have an in with Madam Rosmerta."

* * *

**Acknowledgements: **_I would like to thank _embracing, Something About Slytherins, silly, Rubber-duckiesofdoom, Tallemera Rane, grissomsgirl176, Kuddls, blackcoat-245, sweetblonde14, JKR, darkdolphins, CurryCurran, Auriela, BlackCat69, _and _M.S. Dae _for your reviews on Chapter 7_. _I'm glad you enjoyed! _


	9. Cat Fight!

**Author Note:** So, it took me the entire summer plus about a month into the school year, but finally – a new chapter! I apologize for the long wait. School and cheerleading have been taking up all my time lately and I hardly get the chance to sleep. I hope you continue to enjoy the story, despite the long breaks I may take in between chapters.

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

"Annie, use a few more of the _silver_ ornaments, would you?" Lily crossed her arms and continued to make her rounds in the Great Hall. "Edward, that angel figurine looks suspiciously like a hag. Fix it. And Rupert," she stopped in front of an unfortunately awkward fifth-year, "a little easier on the mistletoe, all right? This school isn't called _Snog_warts, you know."

"Oh, Lily," uttered a familiar voice behind her. She spun around to see – who else? – James with a mischievous smile on his face. "You sure know how to crush a man's dreams."

Lily's cheeks reddened at the sight of the Head Boy. Could this really be the same boy she'd kissed last night? Was it not some horrible nightmare that held the memory of his embrace in Lily's mind? Was it not some cruel spell bewitching her into such crazy things?

Lily remembered going for butterbeers with James after The Kiss, where the two of them hardly spoke except for some quiet, awkward small talk. Afterward, they had headed back to their dormitories, where Lily wondered if she hadn't just made a huge mistake.

"Unless you plan on doing any _real_ work," Lily said to him, her mind finally reverting back to the present, "I suggest you…"

"Would you look at that?" James interrupted, gazing above their heads. "Looks as though we've scored ourselves some mistletoe!" He wiggled his eyebrows.

Lily glared at him.

"What?" James asked innocently. "Nothing we haven't done before!"

Lily grabbed James by the necktie and dragged him to an isolated corner of the room, where their conversation was well out of earshot.

"Do not mention last night again," Lily commanded, keeping her voice low. "I was clearly in a vulnerable state at that moment and I would appreciate you knowing that, under normal circumstances, this would never happen. _Ever_."

"But…" James's face fell. "You're saying that my amazing kissing skills had no effect on you whatsoever?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Not a positive effect, if that's what you mean."She placed her hands on her hips. _Not really, anyway,_ she added to herself as a side note.

James sighed. "All right, Miss Evans. I'm sorry to bother you." He began to head out of the Great Hall, stopping in front of one of the girls to say, "Annie, use some more of the red ornaments… all of that silver is making me sick." He then disappeared.

Lily wandered the Great Hall, overseeing the rest of the Christmas decorations. _I wonder where Jerrica and Selena are, _she thought, trying to distract her mind from the sudden absence of James. She knew that she was always harsh with him—why would that drive the boy away _now_? Why had he given up so easily on tormenting her today?

_Then again, why do I even care?_ She asked herself. _I wanted him to go away, and he did._ For some reason, though, a part of Lily missed the flirtatious banter.

"Sorry we're late!" chirped a smiling Jerrica, as she and Selena entered the Great Hall. "Oh, Lil, this place looks beautiful. Hope you're not working the fifth- and sixth-years _too_ hard, hmm?" She winked at Rupert, who was busy removing some of the mistletoe.

Lily cocked an eyebrow. "You're in an awfully good mood, aren't you?" she speculated.

"Don't mind her," Selena laughed. "She's been practically singing all morning."

"I take it your evening with Sirius went well, yes?"

Jerrica nodded. "It was strictly platonic," she admitted, "but we had a lot of fun. I've missed talking to him without his other amigos always coming into the picture."

Both Lily and Selena instantly thought of Remus.

"Well, I'm glad you had a good night," Lily said sincerely, unsure of whether or not she had enjoyed any part of her own. "What about you, Selena? How was studying?"

"Oh, you know," Selena gulped, not wanting to mention the piece of information Remus had revealed to her during their previous session. "Studying is studying."

"I would imagine Remus is a good tutor," Lily said thoughtfully. "I think it's wonderful that the two of you have that arrangement."

"Wonderful," Selena repeated, nodding. "Yes, I suppose it is."

The three of them walked through the room, as Lily inspected some of the décor. As much as she nitpicked – ("The wreath is a few inches too high, Mildred," she would point out every so often, "and the fake snow is heavier on the left side than the right.") – Lily knew that the Christmas scenery she oversaw was the most beautiful in all her years at Hogwarts.

"So, Lily… how was _your_ night?" Jerrica asked the Head Girl. "Were you able to keep Mr. Potter out of trouble?" She grinned.

Lily groaned. "All I can say is that my night wasn't nearly as fun… or in Selena's case, as productive… as either of yours." She could not bring herself to admit, at least not yet, that while Jerrica was catching up on old times with Sirius, and Selena was studying with Remus, she and the boy she most detested were busy sneaking out of Hogwarts and locking lips.

"Sorry to hear that," Selena said, feeling all-the-more sympathetic for her friend.

"Me too," Lily sighed. "Me too."

* * *

"Hello everyone!" greeted a playful female voice. "Have you missed me?" 

Dinnertime had arrived, and the six friends sat at their normal end of the Gryffindor table, this time with the boys on one side and the girls on the other. Conversation had been somewhat stilted, with Selena and Remus not knowing what to say to one another, and James remaining unusually quiet (therefore not sparking Lily to reject him in any which way).

"Well, look what Mrs. Norris dragged in," Jerrica whispered to Lily, as Greta Catchlove slid in to a seat next to James.

"It's impossible not to miss a girl of _your_ loveliness, Miss Catchlove," James responded charmingly, though he looked somewhat at Lily as he said it.

"Is it?" Lily asked in a snarky tone. At that moment, there was nobody that she wanted less to be at that table than Greta. "To imagine we've gone all this time without your visits…"

As a rejoinder of her own, Greta brushed up against James, possessively, with a triumphant gleam in her eyes. Lily gritted her teeth, trying not to explode in anger.

"Oh, Lily," Greta said, a touch of laughter in her voice. "The world needs more witches with your sense of humor."

"What brings you to our table today?" James asked, offering an enchanting smile while acting as somewhat of a buffer between the girls.

"_Must_ I have a reason?" Greta pretended to pout. "I came to visit my favorite Gryffindor chaser… and his friends, of course." The ultimate flirt, she winked at Sirius and Remus. "Wish you could have stayed longer last night, James. My Quidditch skills do need more help, if you're ever interested."

"Tired of raising hell at your own table, hmm?" Lily's voice was all-too-sweet. _Get off him, you stupid wretch, _she meanwhile thought menacingly.

Greta chuckled. "You and your humor again, dear… I suppose you _could_ say I needed a change in scene."

"There are always the Slytherin boys' dormitories, if you _really_ need a change in scene." Lily smirked. "Or do you visit them often enough?"

Not knowing how to respond to this, Greta forced a smile and turned to James. "Xander Edgecombe is throwing a Christmas Eve party in the Commons tomorrow night," she announced. "It might be a little lame, but if you wanted to come, perhaps we could liven things up…" She looked at Remus and Sirius. "You boys are more than welcome, too, if you'd like."

"I'd love…" James began, but he was cut off by Jerrica.

"Boys, boys," she interrupted. "Don't you remember? We already have our own party planned."

Unsure of where Jerrica was getting at, though eager to back her up (she probably had a good reason… after all, she _was_ his best girl friend, and he had impeccable taste in friends), Sirius nodded. "Our own party indeed," he chimed in, hardly knowing what to say.

"Party?" Selena questioned, not completely understanding the situation. "We're having a –?"

Lily nudged Selena in the shoulder. "Yes, Selena," she said slowly. "We're having a party." She looked at Greta and shrugged, as though there was absolutely nothing she could do to prevent this. "Sorry, but it's an exclusive sort of thing… you _do_ understand, don't you?"

"Oh, of course," Greta said rather unconvincingly, crossing her arms. "Well, James, if you change your mind… you know where to find me." She kissed him on the cheek, letting her lips linger for a moment before leaving.

James sat speechlessly, looking at his friends in complete confusion. What had just happened?

"So…" Remus spoke up, trying to break the silence. He smiled awkwardly. "We're having a party?"

"I told you about it yesterday, remember?" Selena lied, finally catching on.

Remus thought for a moment. After he had told her his innermost feelings, Selena had told him quietly that they could not be together. Remus tried to laugh this off, but after being rejected, all he could think about was what he must have done wrong. So perhaps Selena _had_ mentioned a party, and he had merely tuned her out.

"I suppose," Remus said finally with a sigh.

"Lily," Jerrica said. "Can I talk to you?"

The two friends left the Great Hall and walked to their usual bathroom… Moaning Myrtle's.

"Is something wrong?" Lily asked upon entrance.

"What a question!" exclaimed Moaning Myrtle, flitting over to the girls. "There's _always_ something wrong in this school, isn't there?"

Ignoring the ghost, Jerrica sighed. "I know you were probably acting that way to keep with the 'plan' … you know, to keep Greta away from James … but I have to ask. Was a part of you at all jealous back there?"

Lily averted her eyes. "I don't know what you mean, Jer."

"Oh, I'm not trying to accuse you of anything," Jerrica said. "But jealousy doesn't suit you, Lily, and I think it was rather evident back at dinner. Is something going on between you and James?"

"Nothing of the sort!" Lily retorted defensively. "What are you talking about?"

"You were practically seething when Greta came to the table," Jerrica admitted. "And you and James hardly spoke, which was probably a record, considering how dinner with the two of you _usually_ goes."

"I was tired," Lily claimed. "Do you know how early I had to wake up to work on the decorations this morning? And James… well… he was probably tired too. He did stay out with Greta last night." She did not want to admit that he had stayed out even later with _her_.

"Mm." Jerrica smiled slightly. "I know you, Lily. You're my best friend, and I know that _something_ weird between you two. And maybe you don't want to tell me now, but as a best friend, I _will_ find out."

Lily laughed in spite of herself. "Well," she said, "you can always _try_."

* * *

**Acknowledgments: **_I want to thank _Auriela, Jaye Cay Rolling, mediator girl, Yuki Asao, JKR, Rubber-duckiesofdoom, sweetblonde14, BlackCat69, Bitty, _and _maraudersminuspeterarehot. _I hope you enjoy this chapter and keep reading!_


	10. Truth or Dare

**Author Note:** A little over a month between updates… am I good or what? XD Life has been pretty hectic around here, hence my inactivity on this site, but as I've said before, I'm still going to complete every story I've started here. I'm not totally disappearing; I'm just laying low for a while. But I will be sure to update. I hope you enjoy Chapter 10, even though this chapter isn't quite as good as I hoped it would be.

* * *

**Chapter Ten**

Sitting cross-legged on the floor, Lily gathered the carefully-wrapped gifts that surrounded her, and checked to ensure that everything was perfect. She had finally arranged her Christmas gifts to give to her friends the next day.

For Jerrica, she had bought a box of Fizzing Whizbees, as well as a sweater she knew her friend had been eyeing for a while. Selena's gift would include a set of lip glosses that expertly applied themselves, and a scarf that changed color to match the wearer's outfit. Against her better judgment, Lily chose Sirius's gift from Zonko's Joke Shop, but knowing him well, she realized it would be appreciated (and hopefully not used on herself). She knew Remus loved to read, but was unsure of his knowledge of Muggle literature, so for him she secured a collection of Shakespeare's greatest works, along with a box of chocolate frogs. And for James…

_James does not deserve a gift, _thought Lily begrudgingly, setting the wrapped gift for James to the side. _I don't know why I bothered with one; he'll be getting enough from Greta tonight_.

Lily was not sure whether or not James had officially agreed to attend the party Greta invited him to the night before, but she doubted he would decline the Ravenclaw's request. He clearly wanted to spend his night with a girl who actually wanted him, right?

Which was fine, considering Lily did _not_ want him. At all.

Besides, James had been acting strange around her ever since last night. They had returned from dinner and gone to bed without a word exchanged between them, which was usually next to impossible. A part of Lily missed the cheeky comments that always kept her on her toes.

_No, I don't,_ she thought to herself miserably, trying to fight off that sentiment. _I don't miss it._

Begrudgingly she kicked James's gift under her bed and headed downstairs to the Head Commons, where James sat on the couch reading a Quidditch magazine.

Lily picked up a book of her own from the small table and sat down in a chair.

"Hey," she greeted him awkwardly.

James looked up from his magazine for the first time since Lily appeared in the room. "Hey," he responded. His tone, while perfectly polite, was missing something. "Look… if you're here to ask me about the feast tomorrow, I've already talked to the elves in the kitchen and…"

"I'm not here to ask you for anything," Lily replied, her voice for once perkier than his. "I'm just here to read."

She opened her book, but could not concentrate on the sentences that lay before her. The silence in the room was too palpable to ignore; something had changed between herself and James.

"So, Christmas is tomorrow," Lily said suddenly, wanting to break the stillness of their setting.

James set his magazine down next to him. "I thought you were just here to read."

_What is his problem?_ Lily wondered to herself. Then again, what did James's words matter to her? In a perfect world, Lily would kill for James to ignore her presence, which seemed to be exactly what he was doing.

"I am." Lily sighed. "I was just trying to be friendly."

James did not acknowledge this. He started to pick up his magazine again, before Lily interrupted him.

"What are you doing tonight, James?" she asked. "Are you…?"

"I think I'm going to the party that Greta invited me to," James told her. "You know, last night?"

Even though this was no surprise to Lily, it did give her the strangest feeling inside. _What do I care? _She asked herself. _What does it matter that he's not going to be _here_ tonight?_

She smiled bitterly. Suddenly, a thought came to mind, explaining why she felt so sour toward Greta Catchlove in the first place. _I'm supposed to be keeping James away from her, _Lily remembered. _I promised Jerrica._ It made Lily feel better to know that her feelings were directed toward her loyalty to her best friend, rather than… well… toward James. So, when she bothered him about coming to the small party that _she_ would be attending, Lily would know that this was only to stick to The Plan to keep James away from Greta.

"You're certain you don't want to go to _our_ party?" Lily inquired, trying to give James a charming look.

The look had no effect on James. "I was invited to the other one first," he explained simply. "I would hate to bail- that would be rude."

"But you bailed on your date with Greta," Lily blurted out suddenly. "You had planned your date with Greta first, but still bailed on it to…"

"… To be with you?" James finished for her. "Lily, I wasn't going to chase you forever."

"But why?" Lily asked. "Why have you stopped chasing me?"

James laughed sullenly. "You're something, you know that? You slap me when I want to kiss you, and then wonder why I've grown sick of these games? Lily, I want a girl who genuinely fancies me. You clearly don't. I've realized that."

"But…" Lily trailed off, her voice breaking.

"But _what_?" James stood up, and crossed his arms. "If there's something you want to say to me, say it now."

Lily sighed. What was there to say? James's words stung.

"There's nothing," she told him after a moment of thought. "Except that I hope you come to our party tonight."

James shook his head and headed toward the portrait hole, ready to leave. "You're _truly_ something," he muttered. And before he exited the room, he said to her, "Happy Christmas, Lily."

* * *

"What could possibly be taking that boy so long?" Lily asked, tapping her foot impatiently.

Dinner was over, and Lily, Jerrica, Selena, and Remus had been standing in the corridor near the Head Commons for nearly fifteen minutes now, waiting for Sirius. Despite the fact that Jerrica concocted the party plan merely to keep James away from Greta, the others (with the exception of Lily) had actually been looking forward to it.

They had decided to hold this "party" in the Head Commons instead of the Gryffindor Tower to keep things exclusive; they did not want to be bothered by the few first and second years who had stayed for the holidays. They wanted to start after dinner, but Sirius had insisted on going back to his dormitory first to retrieve something.

"Why don't we all just go with you?" Jerrica had suggested over dinner.

"No, it's quite all right," Sirius responded impishly. "I'll meet you in the corridor."

Now, they could see their friend heading toward them, not holding anything out of the ordinary.

"What did you make us wait for?" Remus asked.

"Oh, you'll see." Sirius grinned. "Lily, darling, are you going to keep us waiting all night?"

"_Demiguise disguise_," Lily told the chubby man in the painting that stood before them. He tipped his hat and wished them a happy Christmas, as he granted entrance.

The five friends took seats on the common room couches.

"I can't believe our friend Jamesy isn't here," Sirius commented out of the blue. "Usually he'd give anything to spend extra time with Miss Head Girl."

"He had prior commitments," Lily replied through gritted teeth. She had been thinking about their earlier conversation all day.

"With the school slut," Jerrica countered. "What does anyone see in her?"

"Yeah," Selena added. "She picks her nose in public. I saw once."

"What does it matter?" Lily tried to shoo the topic away. "We're here to have fun, not talk about that wretch!" She had to force the enthusiasm, but it did come out in her voice.

"That's the spirit!" Sirius exclaimed, and reached into his robe pocket, pulling out a pair of tall bottles of…

"Firewhisky?" Jerrica grabbed a bottle to examine it, but sure enough, her answer was correct. "Sirius, how the bloody hell did you smuggle these into Hogwarts?"

"I have my ways." He wiggled his eyebrows. "I figured since it's our last year, we should make it a party to remember."

Lily was still too focused on the earlier events of the day to nag Sirius about how much trouble they could get into if they were caught. Instead, she flicked her wand slightly, and music from The Jolly Jobberknolls began to play.

"Er… what does everyone want to do?" she asked awkwardly.

The last time they had been to a party, it was hosted for their entire House, so things were _allowed_ to get completely out of hand. However, now it was just the five of them, unsure of what to do.

"Strip Poker," Sirius answered with a straight face.

"No, thank you," Lily responded, rolling her eyes.

Remus spoke up. "What about Truth or Dare?" he suggested.

"That could be fun," Selena said with a grin.

Remus grinned back.

_What's going on between those two?_ Lily thought to herself enviously. _I hope I'm just overreacting._

Jerrica opened the bottle of Firewhisky she held in her hands and took the first swig. "Lily," she said to her friend softly, in the midst of the conversation. "You seem stressed… have a sip and just don't worry about whatever is bothering you, all right?" She seemed genuinely concerned.

Lily sighed and looked at the bottle that had been thrust over to her. Dare she take a sip? She had never tried Firewhisky before and therefore did not know what to expect.

_You only live once,_ she thought to herself grimly, deciding to follow Jerrica's advice and try a bit. It couldn't hurt, could it? Of course, the taste on her lips was unlike what she expected, and it burned down her throat, but Lily was sure this was only because she had never drunk it before. She took another sip, which was a little easier to swallow.

The five friends sat on the floor in a circle.

Sirius took a swig of the other bottle of Firewhisky and set it down. "Let's start with some of the easier questions, so we can leave the best for last." He smiled. "Who wants to begin?"

"I will," Selena volunteered.

"Okay, 'Lena." Sirius cracked his knuckles. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"All right." Sirius stopped to think of a good question. "We've asked you this before, but… why don't you ever date any of the blokes from Gryffindor?"

"Well…" Selena said, thinking for a moment. She knew why she hadn't pursued _one_ of those Gryffindors, but as for the others…? "Actually, I really don't know." She laughed.

Sirius yawned. "My dear 'Lena… you're such a liar."

"Am not!" Selena argued. Before Sirius could come up with a rejoinder, she turned to Lily.

"Truth or dare, Lils?"

Lily thought for a moment. Did she want to reveal something incredibly stupid about herself, or did she want to _do_ something incredibly stupid?

"Truth," she finally said, realizing she had done enough stupid things lately.

"What's the worst thing you've ever had to do?"

Lily, not wanting to give away any true answer, replied with a laugh, "Share a living area with James." Truly, though, she did not consider it all that bad anymore.

"Oh man." Sirius chuckled. "That was rough. But I bet one day you'll start to like him."

Lily shook her head. "Keep dreaming." She turned to Remus. "Truth or dare?"

"Er… I'll go with truth."

"Truth," Lily repeated. What should she ask Remus… something completely meaningless or something that she truly wanted to know?

"Who do you fancy?" she blurted out. Her cheeks reddened to the color of her hair, but she _had_ to know.

Remus blushed as well. He did not want to answer this.

"Come on, Moony- I mean, Remus- we're waiting for an answer!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Fine… I like Selena," Remus revealed, "and she knows it."

All eyes turned to Selena, who merely looked down at the ground and asked "Whose turn is it?"

Lily's face fell at the thought of Remus fancying one of her best friends. Surely that was against the rules of humankind; if he liked any girl other than herself, it should be someone she was not so close with, right?

She took another swig of the Firewhisky, noting that it was beginning to calm her nerves, and remained silent.

"Jerrica, truth or dare?" Remus asked finally.

"I'm going to be the bold one in the group and pick _dare_." Jerrica grinned. "Bring it on, Remus!"

Remus smiled to himself. "All right, Jer, if the person you fancy is in this room… I dare you to kiss him." He knew perfectly well that Jerrica harbored feelings for Sirius, and figured this game may as well cause some good for somebody.

Jerrica drew in a deep sigh. "Ready or not," she muttered to herself, and she leaned in next to her to kiss Sirius softly on the lips. She pulled away after a few seconds, not wanting to be too forward, and smiled shyly.

"Whoa," Sirius said quietly, beaming. "You're not going anywhere, love." And this time, he leaned in and kissed her much more passionately. The two became completely oblivious to the rest of the room.

"Looks as though we've lost two players," Remus observed.

Having downed more of the Firewhisky, Lily was already becoming a little dizzy. "Selena…" she trailed off. "Your turn to ask."

"That's right," Selena realized. "Truth or dare, Lily?"

"Truth." Lily smiled, realizing that the thought of Remus fancying Selena was not as bad as she thought. It wasn't bad at all; the Firewhisky helped corroborate that.

"What is your biggest regret?"

"Being such a coldhearted bitch!" Lily laughed, unable to control herself. Maybe the Firewhisky _was_ doing some of the talking. "I mean, I'm terrible. I can see why James hates me now!" She laughed again.

Selena and Remus exchanged looks, wondering what could have sent Lily into hysterics like this. Perhaps she had been under a lot of stress lately? Neither noticed the less than half-filled bottle in her hands.

"All righty, Remus, truth or dare?" Lily asked, after her laughter died down.

"Truth." Remus could not trust himself with the dares.

"Why don' you fancy me?" she asked, her words slurring. "Is it 'cause I'm awful?"

"No!" Remus reassured Lily awkwardly, patting her on the back. "You're not awful. But wait… did you fancy me?"

Lily giggled. "You don' get to ask _me_ questions!"

Remus sighed. "Right. Selena?"

"Truth."

"Did Lily fancy me?"

"Remus!" Selena exclaimed. "I can't answer that! Lily, truth or dare?"

"No more dares!" Lily shook her head. "Truth."

Remus looked at Selena as though he wanted her to ask the same question he had just asked, but being a good friend, Selena ignored this. "Hmm… what's the craziest thing you've ever done?"

Normally Lily would have kept this a secret, as she had for the past few days, but who was she kidding? "_Well_…" She smiled. "James 'n I snuck out of the school the other night 'n went to Hogsmeade."

"Really?" Remus seemed impressed. "That doesn't sound like you at all."

"Oh, but tha's not all," Lily revealed with a chuckle. "We snogged 'n everything! Guess what the crazy part is?"

"What?" Remus and Selena asked at the same time, completely wide-eyed.

"I don' regret any of it!"

Remus and Selena were completely speechless.

"Truth or dare, Remus?" Lily asked, taking another sip.

"Er..." Remus thought for a moment. Suddenly, he noticed the bottle. "Lily, how much of that have you drank?"

"Not so much." Lily held out the bottle. "Want some?"

"There's none left!" Selena exclaimed. "Lily, did you drink all that?"

"No," Lily responded. "Jer had a sip, too."

Remus and Selena looked at each other. Suddenly, they saw the portrait hole open.

"James!" Lily exclaimed, recognizing the Head Boy as he entered the commons. But before she could say anything else, the room went black.

**Acknowledgments: **I would like to thank _Yuki Asao, Rubber-duckiesofdoom, CurryCurran, maraudersminuspeterarehot, Because I Need More Space, BlackCat69, embracing, sweetblonde14, Auriela, _and _catgoddessfreak_. Hope you enjoy this chapter!


	11. The Chase Continues

**Author Note: **I'm making sure I post this chapter as close to December 21st as possible, in honor of Michelle's (_CurryCurran_) birthday! Happy birthday, Michelle… I hope this chapter will suffice. XD To everyone else, I hope you have a wonderful holiday… Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or whatever you celebrate. And if I don't update till 2007, happy new year to all! Enjoy the chapter.

* * *

**Chapter Eleven**

Opening her eyes, Lily glanced around her. She was in her own room, though she could not remember how she got there, and the sunlight was just beginning to enter her room. Confused, she sat up quickly, noticing two very strange things.

One, her head was pounding. _I never get headaches_, she thought to herself questioningly. The only time her head had throbbed remotely this badly was when she was six – during her years before Hogwarts – and the ailment had come with a high fever as well.

The other surprise was just as confusing. Across the room, James sat in a chair, sleeping. _He's in my room?_ she wondered, rubbing her eyes to be certain… and yet, he was still there.

Quietly, Lily stood up, wincing in pain as her headache ensued. The rest of her body was sore as well, for some inexplicable reason. She tiptoed to the door, gazing over at James to make sure she did not stir him.

_He looks so peaceful, _she thought, smiling to herself. _Or, you know, as peaceful as an insufferable git can look._

But the way James breathed so quietly, the way his hair flopped in his face, the way his glasses lay askew on the bridge of his nose made him begin to seem harmless. For a moment, he was no longer the obnoxious flirt who constantly tried to kiss her – he was just an innocent boy who had fallen asleep in her room.

Soon, however, Lily's common sense kicked in. _Obviously he's not so innocent if he's been in here without my knowledge, _she thought to herself warily. _Why is he here?_

Bringing a hand to her aching head, she called out softly, "James?"

James's eyes opened at once. "Good morning, Lily," he replied, his voice just as quiet as hers. Obviously, judging from his reaction time, he had been sleeping lightly, as it usually took him ages to recognize anyone or anything in the morning. "How are you feeling?"

"Like Hell, actually," Lily told him, crossing her arms. "Do you have any idea as to why?"

Reluctantly, James nodded. "I _do_ know why," he said. "But you're going to hate the answer."

"Try me."

James sighed. "Last night, while I was with Greta, apparently you drank a whole bottle of Firewhisky… which caused you to pass out, right as I entered the room. I wasn't sure what to do, so I carried you up to your room and fell asleep there."

"That's impossible!" Lily exclaimed, angered at the thought. She never did such irresponsible things! "I don't drink… never have."

James shook his head. "I knew you wouldn't take it so well… but it's true. Is your head throbbing?"

"Yes," Lily said, still annoyed.

"Well… that's because you're having a hangover," James explained. "Why the alcohol companies don't have spells to avoid hangovers is beyond me. But, I'm sorry to say… _that's_ why you're feeling so horrible right now."

Lily thought back to the night before. There was Truth or Dare… Jerrica and Sirius had disappeared behind a couch, Remus had announced his love for Selena, and… Suddenly, all of the feelings of the night before came rushing back to Lily. She remembered feeling crushed once she heard that Remus did not fancy her, but that something else overpowered those feelings. Was it the Firewhisky that Sirius had brought? It must have been. Was that what triggered the headaches?

Lily heaved a sigh. James was right; she _had_ been drinking. "So… what should I do to feel better?" she asked, hoping he would have an answer.

He raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You're not going to fight me on this one?"

"I believe you," Lily told him, yawning. "Now tell me how to fix the… hangover." She said _hangover_ as though the term were foreign – which, in a way, it was.

James stood up from the chair and joined Lily at the door. "I'll make you some tea using my secret recipe… it'll have you good as new in a few minutes." He smiled slightly. "Aren't you glad to share quarters with someone who can cure hangovers?"

Opening the door, Lily rolled her eyes but returned the smile, despite the pain she was undergoing. The two headed down to the Head Commons, where James assembled a few ingredients and set up a kettle near the fireplace. He then took a seat next to Lily on the couch.

"Where are the others?" Lily asked, noticing the absence of their friends. She knew they wouldn't have strolled the corridors back to the Gryffindor tower so late at night, so where had they gone?

"Oh," James responded, "they're probably still asleep. I let them stay in my room for the night."

"Why were you in mine?" Lily demanded.

"Wanted to make sure you were all right," said James, his voice genuine. "I wasn't planning on staying there the whole night, but I fell asleep. It was late."

There was a pause.

"Well… thank you," Lily said finally, breaking the silence. "For taking care of me… it was very thoughtful."

"It was nothing; I'm sure you would have done the same for me." James hesitated for a moment. "Except, of course, for carrying me up to my room… that might be a little more difficult…"

Lily smiled and nodded weakly. _Would I?_ She wondered to herself all the while. A part of her doubted it. _Usually he bothers me so much that if he _did_ pass out, I'd enjoy the silence._ But who was to say that James hadn't enjoyed the silence? He _had_ been upset with her earlier in the day, after all.

"Tea's ready," James announced, standing up at once. He rummaged around for a cup and poured some tea for Lily.

"Thanks," Lily said, grasping the cup and taking a huge sip. Already her head did not hurt so much. "How did you figure out how to make this?" She took another sip.

"Years of experience, my dear," he told her, smiling. "I'll never tell a soul."

Lily finished her tea, and within moments her hangover was gone.

"That's the last time I drink," she said with a laugh.

James's face turned serious. "If it's any of my business," he asked, "why did you drink so much last night?"

Lily thought for a moment. Should she tell him? Instead of sharing the full truth, she merely said, "It had something to do with a Truth or Dare game…"

"Oh, no." James sighed. "Sirius didn't dare you to do this, did he?"

"No!" Lily did not want to lay blame on anyone for her own stupidity. "I mean, nobody did."

"Oh." James looked relieved, then appeared pensive for a moment. "So… Truth or Dare, hmm? I guess that explains Jerrica and Sirius, then." He wiggled his eyebrows.

"Actually, plenty of that was their own doing," Lily told him with a smile. "About time, right?"

James grinned, and nodded in agreement. "He's fancied her ever since he knew what girls _were_, but he didn't want to ruin things because the two of them have always been so close anyway."

"Same with Jerrica," Lily said. "And look what waiting did for them… all those years of wanting each other and trying to deny it." For some reason, her cheeks flushed at the thought of this.

"Hey," James said suddenly. "I missed out on Truth or Dare when I was with Greta. Would you honor me with a game now?"

Lily nodded. "But I don't feel like taking any dares this early in the day, so could we just play Truth?"

"I suppose," James said, "but because you got to decide that, I get to ask the first question." He smiled triumphantly.

"Ask away."

"We'll start easy. What is your middle name?"

"Grace," Lily answered automatically. She could have asked James the same question, but she knew the answer well and used it often – Adonis. "What is your favorite color?"

"It's a tie between the two Gryffindor colors – scarlet and gold. Do you have any pets at home?"

"Two small fish, Dahlia and Juniper… not particularly sociable creatures, but my sister Petunia is allergic to just about everything else. What about you?"

"What are my allergies?" James asked, to clarify. "Or what kind of pets do I have?"

Lily thought for a moment. "Both."

"Well… to answer your first question, the invincible James Potter is allergic to nothing." He grinned. "And as for your second question, we have a cat at home named Darcy. He's prouder than Jane Austen's Darcy could ever have hoped to be, but he's old and harmless."

"You've read Jane Austen?" Lily was surprised.

"Ah, but I've just answered two of your questions." James laughed. "Now you have to answer two of mine."

"Fine." She pretended to pout.

"All right… first, is everyone in your family named after a flower?" James asked. "You know – Lily, Petunia, the fish…"

Lily smiled. "Not my father," she told him with a laugh. "But my mum, on the other hand, her name is Rose. All the females on her side of the family have been named for flowers. What's your other question?"

"Why did you slap me that first day we met, on the train?"

The smile faded. Lily could still picture that day clearly in her mind, but rarely did she choose to think of it. She was never the type of person who warmed up to others easily, but she found that first impression of herself cold and unforgiving. She would hate for people to judge her based on that day on the train. Not that she cared what James thought of her or anything…

"You weren't the kind of person I was expecting to meet," Lily said finally. "I was new to the wizarding world… I didn't want to bring attention to myself, and it seemed like you did that for me." She took a deep breath. "I was also new to the concept of boys," she added with a small smirk. "I suppose it's difficult to explain."

"Your turn to ask a question," was all James said in response.

"Oh, right." Lily tried to think of a decent question to ask, since James seemed to have decided to make the questions harder. Finally, she thought of something that had been itching at her all morning anyway. "Why did you help me, even though you were mad at me yesterday?"

James sighed. "Just because I was mad at you doesn't mean I stopped caring about you altogether," he said simply. "Of course I wanted to make sure you were all right." He paused to think of a question. "What is your biggest fear?"

_Good question, _Lily thought to herself. She hated rodents, spiders, and small reptiles, but she was not afraid of them… merely repulsed. Commitment, perhaps? No, she had always held strong to her commitments. Was Lily afraid of anything?

"Getting hurt," she said finally. "By myself and by the people around me. That's what makes it so easy to maintain such a cold exterior… why my peers probably refer to me as the Ice Queen behind my back. If you don't let people in, then they can't see you cry." After she revealed this, Lily was embarrassed by it, but she could not deny what she had just said. After all, the game was called _Truth_.

_My turn,_ Lily thought. "Why have you pursued me all these years? I was always so rude to you, but you kept coming back."

"At first," James admitted, "it was because you were a challenge. You have to understand, my parents have always given me everything I wanted. With most people, I can smile and they'll do as I asked. You were never like that. But then, I started to really care for you. You're smart… and even when you tell me off, it makes me laugh. And I know what a loyal friend you are – I've seen you with Jerrica and Selena. There's that side of you that not a lot of people get to see, and I wanted to be the one to bring it out. Like, when you smile. You're beautiful when you smile, but you don't seem to smile enough. And your laugh… it takes a lot to make you laugh, but when you do it's contagious. After a while, I saw enough of that side of you to know that you were the only one really I wanted."

Lily was speechless. It was the nicest thing anyone had ever said about her, and suddenly she felt horrible for every time she had ever slapped James or told him off. It hadn't been just a lust thing, as she once imagined – he really did care for her.

"My turn," James announced, interrupting Lily in her deep thoughts. "Do you regret coming with me to Hogsmeade the other night… and, you know, everything that happened?"

Lily thought about it. A mix of feelings came to mind, but none were feelings of regret. Despite her protests, she didn't mind the sensation of James's lips on hers… not one bit.

"No," she told him. "No regrets. Do you?"

James shook his head. "No," he agreed. He grinned. "Was I a good snog?"

_The best_, Lily thought to herself immediately, feeling her cheeks grow hot. "No need to be too modest, James," she said with a small chuckle. "But I suppose you were. A good snog, I mean."

James smirked. "I knew it."

"Was I decent?" Lily asked playfully. "Or, you know, at least half as good as your friend Greta?"

"I wouldn't know," James said. "I've never kissed her."

Lily was shocked. "Really?" She gasped. "You've always seemed… well… smitten with her."

He shook his head. "I'm not interested in her, Lily. She's pretty, of course, and she actually seems to like me… but I don't know. Sparks don't really fly when I'm with her. But to answer your question," he added, changing the subject, "it was everything I could have hoped for."

Lily smiled. She wasn't sure what made her happier… the fact that James and Greta never kissed, or the fact that James enjoyed their kiss. _What's wrong with you, Evans?_ She wondered if the alcohol still had its effects from the night before. Suddenly she felt like she was melting.

"What about you and Moony… er… Remus?" James asked. "Nothing between the two of you?"

All of these years, Lily had wanted to be with Remus. She considered the two of them a perfect match, but now, she wondered if that were so true. Did sparks fly between them, or was it like the false attraction she'd sensed between James and Greta?

"No," Lily answered, "I suppose not." She paused. A question began to eat at her, and she figured that she may as well ask it. "Yesterday, you told me that you were done chasing me. Are you?"

James stopped to think about his answer. "That depends," he responded, a small smile creeping onto his face. "Do you want me to be?"

She had been wondering this herself. Surprisingly, the answer came easily now. "No," she told him, returning the smile. "I don't."

All was quiet for a moment, as Lily moved beside James on the couch. She leaned forward, and James leaned to meet her halfway. Their lips were nearly touching now, so close… so close… until...

"Happy Christmas!" came a pair of voices atop the stairs, and immediately James and Lily broke away.

* * *

**Acknowledgments: **I would like to thank _digitaldawn, CurryCurran, maraudersminuspeterarehot, catgoddessfreak, Auriela, BlackCat69, Rubber-duckiesofdoom, _and _Yuki Asao_ for your reviews on Chapter 10. Hope you enjoy! 


	12. All I Want For Christmas Is You

**Author Note:** Happy 2007 to all! I'm glad so many of you enjoyed Chapter 11, even if the site _was _being weird with its alerts and whatnot. Thank you to everyone who reviewed… people like you make these stories feel worthwhile! This story only has a handful of chapters left to go… can you believe it? Some of us have been together through _Completely Incomplete _for about a year and a half now! Nevertheless, there is still plenty more to write, and I will continue to do so. For those of you who have been rooting for James and Lily from the very beginning, this chapter is for you. It's short and sweet – hope you enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Twelve**

Jerrica and Selena came bounding down the stairs, followed by Remus and Sirius. Sirius and Jerrica squeezed onto the couch between Lily and James, while Remus and Selena sat in separate chairs as far from one another as possible.

"Happy Christmas to you lot, too!" James said with a laugh, leaning back comfortably in his seat.

"How are you feeling, Lily?" asked Jerrica, giving the Head Girl a tight hug. "You scared us all last night."

"Just fine, thank you," Lily responded, offering a small smile. "Really," she said, noticing that everyone was staring at her, "I'm fine."

"Good," Selena responded. "We were worried!"

"Heard you were quite the funny drunk, though," Sirius laughed, nudging Lily. Jerrica stomped on his foot. "Watch it!" he exclaimed, but the two of them were still smiling.

"Why don't we open gifts, then?" Remus said, grinning. "After all, it _is _Christmas."

"Good idea," Jerrica said, motioning to the pile of gifts near the fireplace. "We all left our gifts here… I don't know what you did with yours."

"I'll go upstairs and get them," said Lily and James at the same time. They both laughed awkwardly.

"Why don't you tell me where yours are?" Lily suggested. "I'll fetch yours while I'm up there."

James shrugged. "All right, thanks… they're under my bed. Are you sure you want to carry all of that?"

"It's the least I could do," Lily said, standing up from the couch. She headed up the stairs to his room first. _What a coincidence_, she thought to herself, _that we both hide our gifts in the same place._ Crouching down, she shook the thought away as she pulled some wrapped boxes out from under James's bed. Suddenly, another thought came to mind.

_Why did I almost kiss him? _She wondered. _I hate James. He drives me crazy._ She sat on his bed, confused. Nothing had changed between them – she was merely being nicer to him to keep to The Plan, right?

_Right?_ She asked herself. Inwardly, Lily sighed. How would that explain the rush she felt when they had kissed… and when they had almost kissed?

_So, he's a good kisser._

Biting her lip, she took the gifts in her arms and stood up. She shut the door behind her and crossed the corridor to her own dormitory.

_Maybe I don't hate James, _she decided. _Maybe I find him tolerable. _Lily bent down to retrieve her own gifts. Piling them on top of each other, she carefully stood up and headed back to the Head Commons.

"There you are, Lily!" James said, his eyes twinkling. "We were wondering what happened to you up there."

_Oh, but that smile… _Lily thought guiltily, contradicting herself once more. _Lily Grace Evans, make up your mind!_

They divvied up the gifts among the six of them, and each began to open their own. From Jerrica, Lily received two framed moving photographs – one picture of themselves and Selena at Hogsmeade in third year, eating ice cream and laughing; the other of the three girls and the Marauder boys at the train station this year – as well as a novel she had been hoping to read. Selena had bought her a floral pattern skirt and a matching barrette for her hair.

Opening her gift from Sirius, Lily found a wide assortment of sweets from Honeydukes, as well as a seemingly innocent planner that was charmed to dates of appointments on a whim. She laughed at this, but laughed even more when she opened Remus's gift – the same collection of Shakespeare's works that she had given him. He was opening his at the same time, and when he realized what the gift was, he caught her eye and laughed in return.

Lily's laughter subsided when she reached her last gift, which was from James. It was wrapped in a small box, and Lily tried to guess what sort of prank he could have fit in there.

First, she looked up from the gift to see what James was doing. He had reached her gift as well. Unwrapping the paper, he revealed a brand new wizard's chess set, along with a small crown. Adjusting his glasses, James made out the letters engraved on this crown – _The King of Good Looks_. He glanced at Lily and grinned.

"You remembered!" he exclaimed with a chuckle, placing the crown atop his unruly hair. "I knew you'd warm up to the idea… now open your present, my Queen."

The others exchanged confused glances. _King? Queen?_

Lily smiled, and slowly she untied the ribbon, removed the wrapping paper, and lifted the top of the box.

With a gasp, she looked back up at James. "It's beautiful," she whispered sincerely, pulling out a thin silver necklace with an emerald stone at the end. "James… this is just… thank you…"

"Don't mention it," James told her, smiling. "I thought it might bring out the color of your eyes."

The silence in the room was palpable until Jerrica finally spoke up.

"It's about time we go down for breakfast, hmm?" she suggested, standing up. "I wonder what they're serving this morning."

Sirius stood up after her, taking her hand and leading the way out of the Head Commons, followed by Selena and Remus and then James and Lily. Most of the group continued to converse as before, while Lily remained quiet and fastened her new necklace instead.

_How did he know? _She wondered. _Emerald is the one thing that makes me feel outwardly beautiful._

She gazed at him out of the corner of her eye, watching as he joked and laughed with the friends they had all known for years. She never realized this until now, but James had the most wonderful, sincere laugh she had ever heard.

_So he may be insufferable sometimes, _she thought to herself knowingly, _but hell, so am I._

Lily tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. _And I like the way he makes me want to smile, even when I'm at my worst. He understands me better than Jer and Selena sometimes. Is that crazy?_

In mid-conversation with Sirius, James grinned at Lily before returning to their discussion.

_He makes me feel that floating feeling I always read about, _she admitted, _except without the use of potions or magic. I've never felt that way with Remus before._

As the group entered the Great Hall, they began to head toward their table, but Lily stopped in her tracks. _I suppose there's just one thing I have to do, _she realized, smiling softly. "James!" she called out.

James spun around, raising his eyebrows. "Yes?"

Lily motioned for him with a finger. "Come over here for a moment, would you?"

James headed back over to Lily, standing right in front of her. "How can I help you?"

"Look up," Lily commanded.

"All right." James did as told, and smiled. "Why, that's mistletoe."

"It is." Lily smiled shyer than usual.

"Do you want to move?"

Lily shook her head. "There is nowhere else I'd rather be."

With that, she wrapped her arms around him, stood on tiptoe, and kissed him. James bent down and pulled Lily closer, and at that moment, Christmas felt absolutely perfect.

* * *

**Acknowledgments: **I would like to thank I would like to thank _Yumi Stern, rika, CurryCurran, Yuki Asao, BlackCat69, digitaldawn, Auriela, catgoddessfreak, maraudersminuspeterarehot, Rubber-duckiesofdoom, anna, -Jeisa-, _and_ Jay Caye Rolling _for your reviews on Chapter 11. I'm glad you enjoyed it! 


	13. Spiking the Pumpkin Juice?

**Author Note: **I want to thank everyone who took the time to read and review Chapter 12 – it was so nice to receive such positive feedback! I guess I was a little unclear in my previous author note, however; the story is NOT over, and we still have a few more chapters to go… I was just reminiscing a little on how close the story is to its conclusion. The kiss was NOT the end! Anyway, enjoy the story… keep reading! Sorry it's so short.

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen**

Slowly, James pulled away from the kiss.

"Lily," he said to her, stroking a lock of red hair, "that chess set you got for me was brilliant, but… er…" He gave her a confused but sincere grin. "I never would have expected this."

Lily bit her lip mid-smile. "Surprised me a little myself," she admitted, blushing as she noticed that everyone in the Great Hall, including her group of friends, was staring at the two of them. "Can we… er… talk about this in the corridor?"

James nodded, taking Lily's hand and leading her out of the room. "What is there to talk about?" he asked.

"Well, nothing, except…" Lily gave a nervous laugh. "I've been doing a lot of thinking."

"Never a good sign," James told her with a wink.

"There's more." Lily sighed. "I realized that, after all this time… I don't detest you, Potter. In fact, I just might like you."

James laughed. "I thought you might, after you kissed me in there."

Lily rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless. "Don't be so cocky… perhaps I only kissed you because of the mistletoe."

"Or because you've been madly in love with me ever since our infamous trip to Hogsmeade?"

"You're awfully sure of yourself, aren't you?"

"I don't know." James grinned. "Am I?"

"I'm beginning to forget what made me fancy you now," she said with a laugh.

James wiggled his eyebrows. "Want me to remind you?"

Lily shook her head. "Not in the middle of the corridor, thank you."

"What? I don't know what _you _were thinking!" James exclaimed. "I was merely planning on listing some reasons…"

"Right." Lily's cheeks flushed. "What are your reasons?"

"Well, I've narrowed it down to three possible scenarios that might have occurred. Shall I go through them with you?"

Lily shrugged. "If you must," she responded casually, though she was actually quite curious as to what James thought.

"No need to be too interested, Lily," James joked. "The first possibility is that you were always secretly in love with me and merely too bashful to say a thing."

Laughing, Lily shook her head. "Try again, Potter."

James sighed. "The second possibility," he said, "is that Snivellus slipped one of his Snape-like potions into your pumpkin juice one night, causing you to love everything you used to hate."

Lily raised her eyebrows. "Creative attempt," she admitted, "but no."

James revealed a smug grin. "I knew it had to be Possibility Number Three."

"Which is….?" Lily knew she had to hear this one.

"Something convinced you to give me a chance, and when you did, you came around and realized that, aside from my sexually suggestive comments, I'm really not so bad."

Lily remained silent, her cheeks flushing slightly.

"I was right!" James exclaimed, correctly noting Lily's silence as confirmation. "I knew it!" He slipped an arm around her. "So, what was it that convinced you, then? Was it my debonair charm? My rugged good looks?"

"Perhaps it was the fact that you could go from sweet and sincere to cocky and insufferable in roughly two seconds," Lily joked. "Or maybe the alcohol from last night hasn't quite worn off yet."

"Darling, you don't mean that." James winked at her. "You adore me, sober or otherwise."

"Though I'm still not entirely sure why."

"Get used to it, love," James said. "Once you're under the James Adonis Potter Spell, there _is_ no antidote."

* * *

"So… what exactly is going on between you and James?"

Jerrica sat cross-legged on her bed, watching as Lily paced back and forth across the Gryffindor girls' dormitory. She had witnessed the peculiar way they had acted toward one another that morning, as well as the unexplained kiss in the Great Hall, and now felt that she deserved some details.

"I don't know," Lily said with a sigh. "I mean, after that kiss earlier, I don't know where we stand."

"But Lily," Jerrica replied, "two weeks ago, you never would have kissed James, even if your life depended on it. I know you promised to be a little nicer to him in order to keep Greta away… but I'm not so sure that was your motive this morning."

"No," Lily admitted, "it wasn't. I haven't even _thought_ about The Plan since Hogsmeade."

"Hogsmeade?" Jerrica was puzzled. "What happened in Hogsmeade?"

"He kissed me," Lily responded matter-of-factly. "And things have sort of gone blurry from that day on."

"Lily Grace Evans!" Jerrica exclaimed. "You never told me about that! Does Selena know?"

Lily shook her head. "No, you're the first person I've told."

"And so, I suppose, you've grown to fancy him?"

"I suppose," Lily said with a nod. "Although I'm not sure why."

"Lily…" Jerrica's voice trailed off. "If you truly think you have feelings for him, don't question yourself. Just let things unfold on their own."

Lily crossed her arms. "But how do I know this is real, that it's not just my mind playing tricks on me? What if something goes horribly wrong and I can't help you out with The Plan?"

Jerrica sighed. "I don't know… but for now, just forget The Plan… Merlin, forget _any_ plan, and just let things run their course with James. Maybe you do have feelings for him, and you won't know that for sure unless you give it a fighting chance."

"You mean, you're done worrying about Greta?" Lily asked, incredulous. For some reason, she had doubts that Jerrica would ever stop hating the girl who had stolen her boyfriend.

Jerrica nodded. "I realized that making you a pawn in my stupid plan could ultimately never make me feel better. I felt bad that I was forcing you to spend time with someone you couldn't stand – although it seems like that might have changed – and either way, Greta doesn't deserve my time or thoughts."

Lily smiled. "I'm glad you came to that conclusion," she said. "What made you realize this?"

"Well…" Jerrica blushed profusely. "After I kissed Sirius last night, and after we took care of your little episode, the two of us talked for hours, and I found out that he had fancied me for about as long as I'd fancied him. And I wondered to myself, why should I worry about a girl who made me unhappy when I've got the chance to be that much happier with someone new? Why waste my energy on someone that shouldn't matter to me?"

"That's great," Lily told her. "I think it's a good way to look at the situation."

"Thank you." Jerrica smiled. "I think so, too."

"So does this mean The Plan is over?" Lily asked.

Jerrica nodded. "Oh, yes… I only want you to spend time with James if it's something _you_ want. Don't feign a relationship just for my sake."

"Let's not say anything about The Plan, then, all right? I'd rather James think I had a sudden change in heart, rather than know the truth – that I initially warmed up to him because I _had_ to."

"Fine by me," Jerrica agreed. "The only other person who knows about it is Selena, anyway, and I assure you she won't say a thing."

"Sounds like a plan." Lily smiled. "Now if you'll excuse me, there's something I have to do."

* * *

Lily entered the Head Common Room, where James was sitting on the couch next to his pile of presents. Grinning, she sat beside him, pulled him close to her, and kissed him quickly on the lips.

"What was that for?" James asked, confused.

"I've done some more thinking," Lily said. "And you were right."

James beamed. "Of course I was," he told her. "I'm always right. Which occasion were you referring to?"

"When you told me I'm under your spell," Lily responded. "And, you know, perhaps Snape _did_ spike my pumpkin juice with some odd potion, but the truth is, I don't think I'll _want_ an antidote anytime soon."

* * *

**Acknowledgments: **I would like to thank _Auriela, Semi-CrazyWithALittleWeirdness, CurryCurran_ (who gave me a hard time about not updating for the past several weeks at school!), _sumdea, PinkKittyMeow, Rubber-duckiesofdoom, x3jessuckerxx, maraudersminuspeterarehot, Yuki Asao, sweetblonde14, Because I Need More Space, marauders rox, RavieGrint, Yumi Stern, x-Midnight Sun-x, rika, -Jeisa-, _and _m-girls_. Thanks to you guys, Chapter 12 was by far my most reviewed chapter yet! Keep reading and enjoy. 


	14. Snow Angel

**Author Note**: I'm glad to see you all enjoyed Chapter 13! The last few months have been a pain in the you-know-where and of course, that is my excuse for not updating during that time. Of course, now I've got the entire summer to write and hopefully you'll get a lot more of this story within these next few months! XD There's only a little more left to go… I still can't believe it! Anyway, I hope you enjoy Chapter 14, and let me know what you think. I apologize in advance for the entire snow scene – if anything seems unrealistic, it's because I live in Florida and haven't seen snow in almost fifteen years. Hopefully that won't seem _too_ obvious!

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen**

"James, wake up!"

Lily stood over James's bed, a grin on her face. Nudging him gently, she beckoned him again. "James, wake _up_!"

"Let me sleep!" James retorted groggily. "We're on holiday!" He squeezed his eyes tightly shut to avoid any light that could possibly enter the room.

"James, you're going to sleep the entire day away!" Lily exclaimed. "Do you really want that?"

James groaned in response. "I need my beauty sleep!"

Lily sighed, and kneeled down beside him. "You've left me no choice, Potter. I'll have to resort to Plan B." Following this, she leaned in and kissed him lightly.

James blinked several times out of surprise. "Mmm," he said simply before deepening the kiss. "All right," he conceded finally, opening his eyes wide. "You've got me."

"Good," Lily responded, smiling. She grabbed his hand and pulled him out of bed toward the window. "Look!" she commanded, opening the curtains completely.

James shrugged, still tired. "The ground," he said simply. "It's white."

Lily smacked his arm playfully. "That's because it snowed last night, you dolt."

"Now, now." James shook his head, a lopsided grin appearing on his face. "Is that any way to speak to the father of your future children?"

"Now, now," Lily mimicked, crossing her arms, "at the rate you're going, that man will be Severus Snape."

James shrugged. "If you truly dig slimy-haired gits, then who am I to stop you?" He smiled. "But let's be honest. You would have me any day of the week over him."

Lily nodded, thus admitting defeat. "That I would," she agreed, inwardly shuddering at the thought of Snape in her future.

James moved closer to Lily, not taking the smile off his face. "You have good taste, love," he told her, his voice softer, his breath nearly touching her skin. He looked as though he were about to move in even closer, but Lily quickly stepped back.

"Er, want to go for a walk outside before breakfast?" she asked, trying not to blush. She had finally admitted to herself that she harbored feelings for James, but she still felt uncomfortable when thinking about it. She had resolved to herself to keep things as light and carefree as possible; she did not want to plunge headfirst into a relationship that probably would not last for long. Lily knew she was falling more and more under James's spell, but if anything seemed too serious, it would jolt her out of her reverie.

James shot her a puzzled look. "Er, sure, Lily. Why not?"

Lily smiled awkwardly. "Wonderful, Go put on something warm so you don't freeze. I'll wait for you downstairs." And with that, Lily left the room.

Now alone, James sighed. _What's going on with her?_ He wondered. Lily had always been somewhat of a mystery to him, but for all of this time, he'd always assumed that once she finally gave into him, he would be able to read her like a book.

She fancied him, obviously, or else she would not have kissed him in front of the entire school. And she certainly would not spend more time with him than necessary unless she'd had a change in heart. Why, then, was she acting so strangely, whenever he tried to get closer to her?

He pulled on his warmer clothes with a frown, and checked the mirror as he rumpled his hair. James smiled slightly at his reflection before he bounded down the stairs.

"You ready, my snow queen?" he asked Lily, who had apparently been engrossed in one of his Quidditch magazines for the past few minutes.

Lily set down the magazine and stood up. "Of course," she answered, having regained her composure from earlier. "Shall we?"

The two headed downstairs and outside, continuing their usual banter.

"This time last year," James told Lily, "if I so much as looked at you, I would earn a good slap." He grinned. "And now, here we are, alone together in the courtyard, where I bet you'd let me snog you senseless if I tried."

Lily cocked an eyebrow. "Don't be so sure of yourself, Potter… I'm not a fan of public displays of affection."

"Right," James said with a smirk, thinking of a certain kiss Lily had initiated the day before. "Which is why _you_ kissed _me_ in the Great Hall yesterday."

Lily smiled. "That was different."

"Who says that's stopping me now?"

Lily shook her head triumphantly. "You wouldn't," she said matter-of-factly.

James laughed. "And how do you know that?" he asked, now genuinely curious.

"Because I know you, James, and I know you love to torment me, but remember – you've got what you wanted. I'm yours now… and therefore I've got you wrapped around my finger."

James contemplated this. He slid his arm around Lily's waist as they followed the path around the courtyard. "You're right," he admitted with a grin. "You're absolutely right."

The two continued down the path in silence for a while, until Lily spoke up again, this time more serious.

"You know something?" she said quietly. "I love the snow. The color, the texture… to me, it's one of the most beautiful things in the world. My sister Petunia and I used to make snow angels at home when we were little. Mine always came out looking more like snow trolls, but Petunia's were _perfect_. You know, we used to be the best of friends, my sister and I, until I started to attend Hogwarts and we realized we were worlds apart." She sighed. "Last year, I came home for Christmas. I was hoping things would change between us. It had already snowed the night before I arrived home, and a part of me was hoping that by the end of the holidays, the two of us would be sneaking out at night for snowball fights and snow angels like we used to."

"Well, did you?" asked James.

Lily smiled weakly and shook her head. "No… as soon as I arrived at the house, I saw my sister finishing a snow angel, and this boy – this really plump boy – helping her to her feet. Turns out he was her boyfriend… and a total prat. He visited almost every day for the holiday, and all he ever did was eat and complain. He and I didn't really get along, either. I didn't think he treated my sister well. I told Petunia how I felt about it."

"Let me guess," James said. "She didn't take it well?"

Lily crossed her arms. "Not at all. We got in plenty of rows over it… and we haven't actually spoken since. Now she and Vernon are engaged to be married, according to my mum."

"Vernon?"

"The future brother-in-law." Lily wrinkled her nose at the thought. "Vernon Dursley… what an ugly name, hmm?"

James laughed. "I'm afraid Petunia Dursley doesn't have much of a ring to it either," he told her. "Not the way Lily Rose Potter does, at any rate."

Lily smacked James on the arm. "You're adorable," she retorted. "My middle name is Grace."

"I know that, love. I was just testing you."

"Testing me?" Lily snorted. "Maybe Lily Grace Snape _would _sound the best."

James winked at Lily. "Now who's being adorable?" He laughed. "I can imagine the children now. Beautiful green eyes, greasy skin…"

"Don't forget the luscious red hair."

"You know what?" James gave Lily the once-over. "I think that the luscious red hair would look simply spectacular with some white in it." He stepped away from her slightly and bent down toward the ground.

"What in Merlin's name are you ---?"

Before Lily could finish her sentence, she was pelted with a snowball. "No fair, Potter!" she shrieked, running her fingers through her now-wet hair.

"Just as I suspected," James said, laughing. "Snow really does the trick."

Lily gathered some snow of her own. "I'll show you tricks!" She tossed her own snowball at James.

And for the next few moments, the two teenagers ran around in the snow, laughing and tossing snowballs at one another. To an outsider, James and Lily seemed completely carefree and happy, as they let loose and enjoyed each other's company. And they were happy. James had waited years to spend real time with Lily, and Lily had finally opened up to him.

_I _am_ happy, _Lily thought to herself, amidst all the snowballs. _For once there are no worries on my mind._

Catching her drifting into deeper thought, James found his opportunity. He threw a snowball from behind her. "Gotcha!" he exclaimed.

Trying to dodge the snowball, Lily dove to the ground laughing. She held out her foot to trip James, who fell laughing beside her. The two lay in the snow, perfectly content with everything around them.

Lily spread her arms and legs and began to form a snow angel. As she repeated these motions, she thought more about the situation. _I can have fun when I'm with James, _she thought to herself. _He makes me happy._ She knew she had been worried about things getting serious between them, but now, as she lay here, she realized that a real relationship with James would be a good thing. She stopped moving.

James gazed at the girl who lay beside him. "What a beautiful snow angel," he told her with a wry smile, rolling over onto his side, more referring to Lily than to the actual snow angel she had formed (which, indeed, resembled more of a snow troll as Lily had mentioned earlier).

Lily rolled over onto her side as well, and laughed. "You're full of it," she replied. She leaned in and kissed him on the lips. James, caught by surprise, fell onto his back and returned the kiss.

And as the two rolled around, laughing and kissing in the snow, Lily knew that at that moment, there was no place she would have been happier.

* * *

**Acknowledgments:** I would like to thank _rubber-duckiesofdoom, m-girls, maraudersminuspeterarehot, sorrybut, GoldenLocket14, Auriela, fudge-butter, -Jeisa-, Yuki Asao, Super Smexy Snuffles, iluvreading, KJ COLLECTIONS, CurryCurran, RavieGrint, hermy permy, x-Midnight Sun-x, rika, Mrs Claire Potter, PinkKittyMeow, _and _RonLover6789_ for your reviews on Chapter 13. Hope you enjoy! 


	15. An Incovenient Truth

**Author Note: **All right… so I guess it's been a couple months now since my last update… and within that time, there have been a few notable changes. One – I turned seventeen last weekend! It just boggles my mind that when I started this story, I was still fourteen years old. My writing has obviously changed somewhat over those years, but I'm trying to keep things consistent as possible. I decided that once I'm done with this story, I'm definitely going to go back to previous chapters and do a bit of editing. Nothing too drastic!

Two – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows came out about a week after Chapter 14 was published. For those of you who didn't read it, I'm not going to give away any spoilers… but for those of you who DID read it, you'll know that a lot of things in this story are inaccurate. Please ignore those things and enjoy the story! Maybe when I go back and edit, I'll make it more canon.

Three – I am now not only involved with cheerleading, but I'm also doing a few writing things outside of that require my time and attention as well. Also, junior year of high school is killer. I'll try my best to stick to an updating schedule… but you know from prior experience that I'm not great at that. So just be patient and don't be afraid to PM me if I'm taking too long!

Okay, sorry for the long author note. On to the story... I'm not quite sure you guys will really like that chapter. I'm sorry for that… but try to enjoy anyway!

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen**

"I still can't believe it!" gushed Selena, her eyes wide and full of wonder. "So you and James are actually…?"

Lily nodded somewhat shyly, hugging her knees tight to her chest. "Yes," she responded, though she wasn't sure exactly _how_ to fill in that blank. "We are."

Selena shook her head. "If you would have asked me even a week ago, I'd never have guessed."

Jerrica entered the dormitory and grinned. "But they're so bloody perfect for each other," she insisted. "If you really think about it… Lily is the only girl who can keep James's ego in check, and James is the only boy who can really make our Lily let loose."

Lily blushed. "What about Daniel?" she asked, referring to a boyfriend from the year before. He wasn't particularly memorable, since the relationship lasted about a month, but for argument's sake… "_We_ let loose."

Jerrica rolled her eyes. "That Ravenclaw you dated last year? His idea of fun was a trip to the library."

"The library isn't _that_ bad, Jer," Lily argued.

Jerrica smiled. "The point is, I think you and James are a good match."

"Yes," Selena chimed in supportively. "A wonderful match."

Lily revealed a small smile. "I suppose," she admitted, secretly thrilled that her friends had said such a thing. "It's just strange."

"What's so strange about it?" Jerrica countered. "James has been in love with you since… well… first year."

"I don't know," said Lily. "I mean, here I am, finally opening up to the boy I've always turned down."

"And…?"

"And," Lily continued, "I couldn't be happier."

Selena grinned. "I want to be a bridesmaid when you two get married," she said.

Lily laughed. "Talk to James. He can do wedding plans; after all, he _did_ name our first child."

Jerrica shook her head. "You're too much."

Blushing, Lily decided to turn the spotlight over to her friend. "What about you and Sirius the other night?" she teased. "The two of you looked cozy…"

It was Jerrica's turn to blush. "We're taking it slow," she answered vaguely.

"Oh, quite slow," Lily agreed with a laugh. "Snogging like that before even acknowledging your feelings… that _is _slow."

Selena sighed. "I thought it was sweet," she argued, speaking up after a long pause.

Jerrica smiled triumphantly. "Thank you, 'Lena," she said. "I rather enjoyed it myself. I didn't think I'd have the courage to do it."

"I'm proud of you, Jer," said Lily. "I know it took a lot for you to do that, but you did anyway."

"Thanks, Lil," said Jerrica. "I know what you did took a lot too."

Lily smiled weakly. "Don't remind me." Not a fan of public displays of affection, Lily felt sheepish remembering her kiss with James in the Great Hall. "James won't let me forget it."

Jerrica shrugged. "Honestly, Lily… would you _want_ to forget it?"

"No," Lily agreed with a grin. "I wouldn't."

* * *

A few hours passed. It was about eleven at night, and Lily had returned to the Head Commons by this time. She was now sitting beside James on the couch, scribbling furiously on a sheet of parchment, while James ruffled his hair a few times.

"So, I was thinking we should mention the aspect of new beginnings somewhere," Lily said thoughtfully, taking note of her idea. "What do you think?"

James smiled dreamily at her. "I think we should take this upstairs," he responded, only about half-joking.

Lily resisted the urge to smile, and instead rolled her eyes at him. "James. I'm talking about my idea. What do you think about it?"

"I think it's lovely," he responded, not really paying attention. "Just like you." He leaned in and kissed her.

As she began to return the kiss, Lily realized what she was doing, stopped, and pulled back. "Let's be serious for a minute," she argued. "I _promise_ we can do this later."

James, merely satisfied that Lily agreed to snog him at some point in time, grinned triumphantly. "All right. I'll be serious now. Just explain to me what we're doing."

"Thank you." Lily sat up straight. "As I'm sure you remember, Professor McGonagall asked us to give a speech at the New Year's Banquet… as all the other Head Boys and Girls have done. We need to write this speech soon, obviously, since McGonagall needs to give it her final approval by the thirtieth, and we're getting dangerously close…"

"Dangerously close to doing something that _doesn't _require speech?" James knew he was being obnoxious, but he loved watching Lily try to hold her laughter in. She always tried to be prim and proper, and of course, James knew better.

"What do you want, Potter?" Lily retorted, setting the quill and parchment down. "We need to be serious for about fifteen minutes. I can take my promise back, you know…"

James wasn't going to let her go so easily. "I have an idea. I'll make you a deal," he said.

Lily crossed her arms. "A deal? What – does that mean you're in charge now?"

"Of course I am!" exclaimed the Head Boy. "Are you going to hear me out?"

"Fine." Lily gritted her teeth. "Let's hear it."

James grinned. "If you sneak out to Hogsmeade with me, then I promise I'll buy you a butterbeer AND I'll help you with this speech."

Lily frowned. "Why in Hogsmeade?"

"I need my adrenaline kick," James responded. "And since it's obviously not going to involve snogging my favorite Head Girl tonight, sneaking out is clearly the best choice."

"Your logic is so…" Lily trailed off.

"Ingenious?"

"Flawed was the word I was looking for." Lily sighed. "All right, James. If we go, do you _promise_ to be serious once we get there?"

"Would I lie to you?" James grinned. "Let me go fetch the Cloak."

And within moments, the two were tiptoeing across the school, through the secret passageways, until they found themselves outside the Three Broomsticks.

Throwing off the Invisibility Cloak, James grabbed Lily's hand, and led her inside toward his favorite table. They took a seat.

A curvy woman in perhaps her mid-twenties arrived at their table. "Do you ever spend a full night at school, James?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"Not when I can have the pleasure of seeing your beautiful face, Madam Rosmerta," James responded, winking at her.

Rosmerta smiled helplessly. "You know you could get in a lot of trouble if your professors were to find out you were here…"

"That's a chance I'm willing to take." James grinned. "Right, Lily?"

"Sure… anything to make me feel paranoid," Lily responded with a laugh.

"What about me?" Rosmerta asked. "_I_ could get in trouble for having you here this late."

"If anyone asks, just tell them I'm a Hogwarts alum, here with my gorgeous new wife," James suggested, slipping an arm around Lily's shoulders.

Rosmerta laughed. "You're something, you know that?" She turned to Lily. "Watch out for this one, you hear?"

Lily nodded. "I'll consider myself warned."

James pretended to look hurt. "I'm not sure I appreciate you trying to turn my girlfriend away from me," he responded. "It wouldn't have worked out between us, Rosie… you know that."

Rosmerta rolled her eyes. "That's because I'm married," she told him, waving her ring finger in his face. Suddenly she glanced at the clock behind her and crossed her arms. "Enough with the chitchat. What can I get you two… the usual?"

James nodded. "A Firewhisky for me, and a Pumpkin Daquiri for the lady."

Rosmerta shook her head. "Two butterbeers it is." She caught James's eye for a moment, then walked away.

James rested his arms behind his head and leaned back in the booth. "She loves me."

Lily laughed. "Of course, James. Because any female who didn't would be insane, right? Even if she preferred her husband over you?"

"You're damn right, love," he responded seriously. "I'm glad you've finally caught on."

"All right, James," Lily. "You know why we're here, right?"

"To get plastered and do things we'll regret in the morning?"

Lily smacked his arm. "Don't make me steal your cloak and go back to the dormitory by myself."

"Oh, Lily… you know I was kidding when I said that we'd regret those things…" James winked at her.

"Look, James. I don't care that _you've_ been thinking with your pants all night," Lily said, sitting up straight. "We'll still have this speech hanging over us if we don't start it soon. So what would you rather – work on it tonight, or do the entire thing the night before we need it, when I'm _not_ in such a forgiving mood?"

James sighed. "You're right, I'm sorry," he admitted. "I suppose we should get to work."

"Good," Lily said, pulling out the quill and parchment she'd brought with her. "Then let's get started."

* * *

It was now well past one in the morning, and the two were finally leaving Hogsmeade. After a few rounds of butterbeers and some decent brainstorming, the two had concocted a good rough draft of a speech. Obviously Lily would have to look it over for revisions in the morning, since they _were_ a bit tired when they wrote it, but all the ideas were there.

Once inside the building, the two crept across corridors, but every so often, James would pull Lily close to him, making her giggle softly.

"Stop that!" she'd exclaim as quietly as possible, as the position they were in was already a bit awkward (under the cloak, it was difficult to stand the way they were).

"Oh, don't complain," James whispered in her ear, sending a shiver down her spine. "You know you love it."

Suddenly, James and Lily heard footsteps, followed by a loud purr. They stopped dead in their tracks, breathing as quietly as possible.

"What's that, Mrs. Norris?" called out a voice. It was Filch, on his nightly watch. "Students sneaking around after hours?"

James covered Lily's mouth before she could gasp, as he predicted she would. Of course she would be nervous… she had never gotten in trouble before. She was clearly new to the whole concept, as was evident by the wideness of her eyes right now.

"We'll get to the bottom of this, Mrs. Norris," Filch continued, holding out his lantern and looking around. His eyes seemed to be fixated on exactly where Lily and James were standing.

Her heart beating faster and faster, Lily felt even more nervous than before. She took a step in closer to James, but before Filch disappeared, Lily's shoe squeaked.

"Oh, I've got you now," Filch threatened, inching closer and closer to the two of them.

Lily pulled James's hand off her mouth and whispered urgently to him, "Let's go!" Although she had never been in a situation like this before, she knew the perfect place to go, where Filch _wouldn't_ find them.

She grabbed his hand and ran, leading James around a couple of corridors, up three flights of stairs, and through another corridor. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?" James whispered to her, knowing she had never done this before.

Lily smirked. "Who's the worrywart now?" she asked, slowly catching her breath. "Come on… he'll never find us in here." She led him through another door and quietly performed a Silencing Charm, ensuring that no sounds from their room would ever escape into the rest of the castle.

"Where are we?" James asked, squinting through the dark as he threw off the Invisibility Cloak. "You don't mean to tell me you've found a passageway I'm not already aware of… right?"

"Of course not," Lily responded with a smile. "_Lumos_," she whispered, lighting up the room slightly. "Welcome to the girls' lavatories."

James wiggled his eyebrows at her. "Classy lady," he replied, clearly impressed. "I knew you wanted me…"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Very funny. We're here because _nobody_ goes in this bathroom, including Filch. The girls who do use it often have to do cleaning spells in order to tidy things up around here." She kept her voice low, because this was Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, and she didn't want to awaken the poor ghost.

"Well… since no one's here…" James grinned at Lily.

"_Oh_, no," she hissed back. "Not in here…"

"Why not?" asked James. "We both know you like me. I thought you were finished trying to deny it."

"I do… I mean… I am, but…" Lily didn't want to explain. She just didn't feel comfortable doing anything with Myrtle nearby, even if she _was _asleep.

"Come on," James insisted. "We've both worked hard tonight. We deserve the fun. You can't say you don't want this just as much I do."

Lily sighed. "I suppose… " she said, her voice trailing off. "After all, it does happen to be your greatest virtue."

James placed his hands on Lily's shoulders. "Play nicely," he jokingly warned her, pushing her lightly against the wall. He leaned in close, almost against her, and kissed her hard.

It was a different kind of kiss than the others they had experienced – the first had been a spur-of-the-moment kiss, surprising and almost out of nowhere, but not too intense, either. The second had been one of those happy-ending kinds of kisses, romantic and sweet, belonging in a fairy tale. They had experienced other kinds of kisses: greet-you-in-the-morning kisses, playful kisses, distract-you-from-your-work kisses. However, none of them were quite like this. This kind kiss shot chills up Lily's spine, caused tension in all the right ways. She had never been kissed like this before, with so much passion, with so much desire, so much want and need and hunger. She had never felt so exposed and yet so comfortable, as she pressed her lips back against his and deepened the kiss.

Interrupting her reverie came a voice.

"Who's there?" cried out Myrtle, flitting out of her stall. "What's going on?"

James and Lily jumped. Lily had nearly forgotten Myrtle inhabited this bathroom by now; James was merely shocked.

"Excuse me…" James was speechless.

Lily's cheeks reddened, and she smoothed out her hair, turning over to Moaning Myrtle. "Hello, Myrtle… I'm sorry to intrude at such a late hour."

Myrtle let out a whimper. "I was rather enjoying my dream, you know… I was alive and beautiful, and I had good marks and good friends, and life was wonderful. But alas, you've woken me up." She sniffled. "Why have you come here now?"

Lily sighed. "Myrtle, we were out late tonight, for something entirely school-related, but we had to hide out in here because we didn't want Filch to find us."

Myrtle inched closer to James and revealed a small smile. "You're rather handsome," she informed him, giggling. She clearly hadn't listened to a word Lily said. "If you were to die soon… you're welcome to share my toilet."

"That's rather sweet of you," James responded with a smile. He may not have known entirely what was going on, but when it came to females, he never missed a beat in conversation.

"So, is this your boyfriend, Lily?" Myrtle asked. "I suppose you'll have to say goodbye to that other one."

James laughed at this, clearly amused. "You certainly will, Lily," he agreed. "Which other boy are we talking about?"

Lily frowned. _What is she going on about?_ Lily wondered, contemplating this for a moment. _Unless…_

"I don't know what you're talking about, Myrtle," she said, her heart beginning to pound within her chest. "Come on, James, I think the coast is clear… let's go back to the dormitory now."

"No, wait," James said firmly, now genuinely curious. What was Lily trying to hide? "What other boy does Lily have to say goodbye to?"

"I can't recall his name," Myrtle said quietly. "But oh, did Lily have a plan for him."

_Oh, no,_ Lily thought. _Not now!_

"James, I'm tired. We should go back now," Lily insisted, grabbing his hand and heading toward the door.

James didn't budge. "What kind of plan?" he asked, his expression becoming more and more puzzled.

"Nothing," Lily responded urgently.

"Oh, nonsense, it was quite a plan!" Myrtle giggled. "I wish I could remember the details."

"What a pity," Lily responded dryly. "Perhaps we'll talk about it some other time."

"No, I want to hear this." James crossed his arms. "What are you trying to hide, Lily?"

"Oh, I remember a bit of it," Myrtle said suddenly. "She was trying to get some kind of revenge against a girl she didn't like… by pretending to be interested with a boy who that girl fancied."

"She's joking," Lily said in her defense. "You know I wouldn't do that, James."

"James!" Myrtle exclaimed, giggling even more obnoxiously now. "That was the boy's name!"

James turned to Lily and frowned. "What is she talking about?"

"She's delusional!" Lily responded, glaring daggers at the ghost girl.

"I don't believe you, Lily!" James shouted. "You've been trying to get out of here ever since your friend started talking about this. Give me one good reason to believe you're telling the truth."

"I just…" Lily sighed. She couldn't believe it, but she felt her eyes began to water. "Let me explain."

"Explain what? That you used me to make some other girl upset?" James asked, basically summarizing what Lily had done.

"You don't understand!" Lily cried. "It's not like that!"

"I thought you had opened up to me because you liked me. Was _everything_ a lie?"

"No!" Lily wiped the tears from her eyes. "Everything I told you was true."

"Except the fact that you were genuinely interested me, right?" James shook his head disgustedly. "I can't believe you. How could you do that to me?"

Lily sighed. She tried to stop crying, in hopes of telling James everything. "You want the truth?" she asked. "At first I found you an insufferable flirt. Half the time, I still do… but as I started to spend more time getting to know you, I realized that there was a pure heart behind all of the teasing. I realized you were the best thing that ever happened to me, the sweetest boy I had ever met. And now I've grown to love you. I love you, James," she told him seriously, her heart beating even faster. She had never said it before, never thought about being in love, but as soon as the words came out, she knew they were true. Perhaps she'd known it all along. "I love you, James," she repeated through her tears. "I love you."

James shook his head, his eyes filled with hurt. "Don't ever say that to me again," he said, his voice colder than Lily had ever thought possible.

Without another word, James picked up his Invisibility Cloak from the ground and disappeared into the corridor.

And Lily sunk down onto the floor, head in her hands as she cried and cried and cried.

* * *

**Acknowledgments: **_I would like to thank _chopperchick123 Yuki Asao, sweetblonde15, maraudersminuspeterarehot, HumptyDumptyWasPushed, RavieGrint, -Jeisa-, CurryCurran, Li'l Albatross, PinkKittyMeow, Ron Lover6789, Auriela, m-girls, LeClas, M.S. Dae, Cardboard, _and _arielHHR_ for your reviews on Chapter 14. Hope you keep reading!_


	16. Breaking the Mold

**Author Note:** Okay, so I figured you guys would absolutely _hate_ me after I posted that last chapter. I don't blame you… I know _I_ would be absolutely livid as a reader, seeing my favorite couple crash and burn. But come on, you knew it had to happen! And you know they're bound to get back together eventually (hence the existence of Harry)! I've gotten quite a few angry reviews for that last chapter, but just trust me on this. I know where I'm going, don't you worry!

I figured, because of the horrid ending, I would update sooner than expected. Hope you enjoy the MOST EMO CHAPTER EVER! XD Even though it is extremely lame.

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen**

Lily awoke in the same place in the bathroom where James had left her, huddled in a tight ball, knees close to her chest. She had spent most of the night in two phases – self-pity and self-hatred – and right before she had fallen asleep, she'd half-hoped never to wake up again.

_If only it were all a dream,_ Lily thought to herself, standing up slowly. Her body was sore from the position she'd been in all night, but the physical pain was nothing compared to the emotional pain she had endured all night.

Lily knew that she should never have taken advantage of James the way she had for those past few weeks. She'd known it was wrong since she'd first agreed to it, but once her feelings had become genuine, Lily had forgotten The Plan. She had no longer felt guilty because she actually had cared about the boy, and so what if the means of their getting together was unconventional? The point was, they were together.

Lily wanted to tell him that. She wanted to run up to the Head Common Room and hug James and tell him it was all just a horrible mistake, that she truly loved him and that it was all that mattered. She wanted him to know that she never intended to hurt him, and that now that would be the last thing she would ever do. She wanted him to see her stand before him, her eyes red and hair untidy, her clothes wrinkled and her cheeks still wet, so he could see what a mess she was without him. She wanted him to know that she loved him, really and truly loved him, despite her past arguments otherwise.

But she knew he would turn her away. She knew he would need some space, and she hoped that perhaps by giving him some time to himself, she would be able to win him back.

* * *

James lay on his bed, arms folded behind his head as he stared at the ceiling. He hadn't slept a wink since he learned the truth about Lily.

_I love you, James. I love you._

The words had been replaying in his mind all night. James wanted to shut his eyes and pretend it was all some terrible nightmare, pretend Lily had never humiliated him the way she had.

_I can't believe she had the nerve to tell me she loved me, _James thought to himself, as the words continued to ring in his ears. _I can't believe she would ever do this t me._

He had been in love with her since the very beginning, and thought he had her completely figured out… but after learning about this, he realized he didn't know Lily as well as he thought he did.

_I love you, James. I love you._

In a million years, he never thought he'd hear those words coming from Lily Evans's lips. What a shame it was that their purpose was solely to cause jealousy.

_I love you, too, Lily._

James shook the thought out of his mind. He could not love her, not after what she'd done to him. Lily had been making him look like a fool for years; it would have been worth it, if she _had_ genuinely fallen for him.

His mind flashed back to the last kiss they shared, the passionate one he had never quite endured before in all of his experiences with girls. Oh, he had been somewhat intimate with all of his girlfriends in the past, but there was never the same spark as he'd felt when he kissed Lily.

_I guess she never felt that way around me. _James sighed.

* * *

Early in the morning, just before students would be leaving for breakfast, Lily finally left Moaning Myrtle's bathroom (where, surprisingly, she'd been absent for most of the evening) and headed to her dormitory to tidy herself up.

"You look rather sleep-deprived," said the chubby man in the portrait, his voice cheerful despite what he was saying.

Lily rolled her eyes at him and crossed her arms. "Demiguise disguise," she said, not wanting to converse with anyone right now, especially not with someone so… happy.

The man tipped his hat respectfully, and the portrait hole opened. Lily stepped inside, hoping to see James waiting for her. As she suspected, however, he was not there.

_What should I have done? _Lily wondered, reflecting on the night before. _Should I have told him before?_ She knew that there had, of course, been the option of never following through with The Plan, but if she had never given James that chance at all, would she have _ever_ found it in her heart to open up to him? Would she still be pining over Remus, the boy she now knew would never love her?

She didn't know where to go from here. She wasn't sure if she should tell Jerrica and Selena just yet, and she knew that if she and James both went down to breakfast and weren't their normal selves, their friends would know that something was up.

_I'll go upstairs and clean up, if anything, _Lily thought to herself with a sigh, heading over to the stairs. _Perhaps a long shower might give me time to collect my thoughts._

As she reached the stairs, Lily heard a door shut. She looked up – it was James. He didn't appear particularly disheveled from afar; his clothes were matched just fine, and his hair was tousled in its normal manner. Without a word, he approached the stairs.

Lily began to climb up; James began to climb down. Looking deeper as they drew closer to one another, Lily noticed redness in his eyes, as if James hadn't slept all night, although it was hard to tell from behind his glasses.

The two met halfway. Lily opened her mouth as if to speak, but she had nothing to say. She had already hurt James; anything she could say at this point, she reasoned, might only make it worse. Instead, she reached for his hand.

At first, James accepted the gesture, but after a moment, he realized that this was the last thing he should be doing. _I won't fall into that trap again, _he thought to himself, withdrawing his hand from hers. He was the first to continue on his way.

Lily sighed, and continued upstairs. By the time she arrived in her room, she realized that she had already lost it all – she might as well _try_ talking to James.

But as she ran out, hurried back down the stairs, and called out his name, he was already gone.

* * *

James sat on a bench outside the school, completely alone. He had come here because he could think of nowhere else to go; if he had gone to breakfast, his friends and Lily's would probably question him as to where Lily was and why they weren't together. If he remained in the Head Quarters, he would probably cross paths with Lily again. The handholding incident on the stairs had been a bit surreal to him; what was Lily trying to do? He wondered why she would have any interest if she were clearly finished with her previous plans.

Suddenly, he looked up to see a pretty girl with pale blonde hair approaching him. _Greta Catchlove._ He wasn't sure if now was really the right time.

"Well…" Greta said, as she finally reached him. "You look awfully lonely."

James smiled weakly. "Ah, but I could never be lonely with a lovely girl like you, Greta," he responded, trying his best to sound like his normal self. "Care to sit down?"

Greta grinned. "I thought you'd never ask." She took a seat beside James, a little too close, and brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "But won't that girlfriend of yours be angry that you're here with me and not at breakfast?"

James laughed. "Since when has that stopped you?" he asked jokingly, rumpling his hair to seem impressive. Although he was hurting inside, turning up the flirting charm helped him feel more… normal. He sighed. "Actually, she's not my girlfriend."

Greta's eyes opened wider. "Trouble in paradise?"

James shrugged, trying to look nonchalant. "Sometimes, people turn out differently than you expect," he answered vaguely. "At any rate, I'd rather not talk about it."

"Poor baby," Greta gushed, scooting in even closer. "But do you want to know what I think?"

_I have nothing else to lose, _James thought bitterly. "What do you think?"

"I think," Greta replied, "that you're much better off without her."

The words stung, but James wanted to know why Greta felt that way. "How so?" he asked.

"Well, my star chaser, you're a _lot_ like me. We both love adventure, we love to have fun. And neither of us can hold onto our relationships, because we're not relationship people."

James was surprised at this. "Do you really think so?" he asked. He supposed that most of this was true, that he had never been serious in the past, and realized that his only serious relationship to date had been formed around a lie. Perhaps he _wasn't_ a relationship person.

"Lily," Greta continued, "is too structured, too uptight for you. You need someone who will laugh at your jokes, who will disregard all the rules with you. Do you really see that in our school's Head Girl?"

James didn't even know anymore. What he'd seen in Lily lately, the things that drew him closer to her, the aspects that made him fall deeper in love with her, were all completely made up, right? The line between reality and fabrication was too fine for James to cross. He shook his head slowly in response to Greta's question.

The Ravenclaw smiled triumphantly. "I know that was my problem with Amos," she admitted. "I needed someone to break the mold. Someone dangerous… like you."

As their lips finally met, James only heard one voice ringing through his ears. And that voice was not Greta's.

_I love you, James. I love you._

* * *

**Acknowledgments: **_I would like to thank _arielHHR, -Jeisa-, Mrs Claire Potter, Li'l Albatross, fudge-butter, RavieGrint, maraudersminuspeterarehot, CurryCurran, Cardboard, SugarHi Marauders, Ron Lover6789, zEthHPfrEaK, _and _chopperchick123_ for your reviews on Chapter 15. Keep reading!_


	17. Misunderstandings and Confrontations

**Author Note: **Hey guys! Well… if you didn't want to kill me after Chapter 15, I'm sure you do now that you've read Chapter 16! I'm sorry to add all this dramatic tension, but don't worry – eventually I'm sure you'll secretly love me for it! Hahaha.. maybe not. But listen, this chapter is the third from last (this could change, but as for now, that's the plan)… so you KNOW there has to be some kind of resolution coming up fairly soon. Although I've been positively evil these last couple chapters, I hope you find it in your hearts to keep reading nonetheless. Don't lose your faith in James or Lily just because of some stupid decisions they've made as of late. Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen**

After about a moment, James pulled away from Greta's kiss.

"I'm sorry," he told her sincerely, "but I can't do this."

Greta cocked her head in confusion. "Why not? You seem perfectly competent to me," she said, her lips forming a mock-pout.

James gave her a small smile and shook his head. "This just isn't right," he continued. "It's not the right time, the right place…"

"The right girl?" Greta questioned, raising an eyebrow.

James remained silent.

"Right." Greta crossed her arms. "You make no sense, James. Fortunately for you, I like you anyway." She leaned in again, hoping they could obliterate the entire conversation and return to their snog.

James shook his head and scooted back. "No," he said, this time more firmly. "You're a sweet girl, Greta, but this can't happen today… maybe one day, but not right now. Things are too complicated for me to just dive in headfirst, you know?"

Greta rolled her eyes. "I don't know, I believe I've made things easy for you," she said. "I've made myself available at just about every opportunity I've had, so don't tell me this is 'complicated.' What more do you _want _from me?"

James sighed. "Nothing," he responded finally, knowing that the conversation was going nowhere. "I'm sorry to have led you on like that."

"Whatever." Standing up, Greta began to head back to the castle, but before she'd taken too many steps, she spun around once more. "Let me know when you change your mind. I'm not waiting around much longer."

* * *

The day passed on, and neither Lily nor James spoke to one another. Lily did not even leave the Commons to eat; when she was finally hungry, she foraged for some of the sweets her friends had given her for Christmas. In contrast, James had avoided the Commons all day; he passed the time walking around outside, practicing his flying on the Quidditch pitch, and, when _he_ was finally hungry, sneaking to the kitchens and smuggling some food from a house elf he'd once befriended.

When he finally returned to the Head Commons, he avoided eye contact at all counts. Lily watched him from the couch, wanted to say something but wasn't sure what would be appropriate. She wanted him to just take a seat beside her, so that maybe they could start from the beginning and talk about what had happened. But she knew that wasn't going to happen, and didn't think it would do her much good.

James disappeared upstairs, and Lily sighed. She had wasted another opportunity.

She closed her eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

Lily awoke to the sound of conflict brewing.

Confused, she sat up from the couch, blinked a few times, and listened again to the muffled yelling from outside the Commons. She stood up and stretched for a moment, then headed toward the portrait hole to find out what was going on.

Stepping into the corridor, Lily found Jerrica arguing with the portrait that guarded the Head Commons.

"Lily's my best friend!" Jerrica was shouting at the chubby man, crossing her arms indignantly. "I demand you let me in there!"

"I know you're not the Head Girl," the chubby man replied cheerfully, his fingers fumbling around with the brim of his top hat. "So I cannot grant entrance until you give me a password."

Lily, who had gone unnoticed until this time, spoke up wearily. "It's _demiguise disguise_. Come in, Jer."

The chubby man smiled satisfactedly, tipped his hat (as he always did) and opened up to allow them inside.

"Lily!" Jerrica exclaimed, hugging her best friend tightly as they entered the Commons. "I'm sorry about all that noise I made… but your incompetent painting wouldn't let me in and I just _had_ to come see you."

Lily sat down on her couch, patting a spot for Jerrica to sit beside her. "It's fine, really," she replied hastily. Reassuring as it was to see her best friend, she was tired and emotional and not all that sure she wanted Jerrica to see her like this.

"Well, I think you know the reason I'm here," Jerrica said matter-of-factly. When Lily did not respond, Jerrica continued. "You haven't left your room in a day! I wanted to check up on you."

Lily smiled weakly. "That's nice of you, Jer."

Jerrica shook her head disappointedly. "So you're not going to give me the details?"

"Of what?"

"Do I have to spell it out for you, Lily?" Jerrica asked, truly confused by her friend's strange behavior. She sighed. "James was missing for the same duration of time you were…"

Lily raised her eyebrows. "What does that tell you?"

"That he was up here with you the whole time. The two of you… in the same living quarters… _alone_...?"

Realizing what Jerrica was implying, Lily gasped. "Are you insinuating that, during the time in which we were both 'missing,' we were up here… doing… _that_?"

Jerrica nodded honestly. "Well, the two of you didn't show up for breakfast, didn't show up for lunch… dinnertime rolled around and the two of you were nowhere to be found. And if… er… that's what you were doing, well. There's nothing wrong with it. But you haven't left your Commons in a day. I saw James out at breakfast this morning, he's with the boys now. But it's not healthy for _you_ to stay cooped up here for too long, and –"

Jerrica stopped short when she noticed that Lily was suddenly crying. What had she said wrong?

"Lily…" Jerrica pulled out her handkerchief. "What's the matter? Did he-" A thought came to mind. "Oh Merlin, Lily, is it James? Did he take advantage of you? Because if he took advantage of you, I ought to give…"

"No!" Lily cried out, shaking her head and sobbing. "It's not James… it's me!"

"Don't tell yourself that, Lily. Whatever he did to you, you've nothing to feel sorry for," Jerrica responded defensively. "Don't you worry."

"But it _is_ my fault, Jer!" Lily shot back. "He found out about The Plan!"

Jerrica gasped. "NO!" she exclaimed incredulously. "You mean, he knows everything?"

Lily sniffled. "Not everything… but he knows what I did, and that's all that matters."

"Oh dear!" Jerrica took the handkerchief and wiped off Lily's wet cheeks. "How did he find out?"

"Moaning Myrtle," she answered matter-of-factly.

"Moaning Myrtle?" Jerrica repeated, a puzzled expression on her face. "Where did James run into her?" Taking another look at Lily, Jerrica realized that this question wasn't really important. "Oh, never you mind about that. Oh dear, it's all my fault, isn't it?"

Lily shook her head. "You weren't the one who went through with it, remember?"

"No," Jerrica agreed, "I was just the pushy best friend who planned it. God, I'm awful."

"You didn't think it was going to hurt him, Jer," Lily said softly.

"Neither did you!" retorted Jerrica with a frown. She thought for a moment, and then spoke again. "Not to worry, Lily – I'll straighten this whole mess out and tell James the truth about The Plan."

Lily crossed her arms. "You mustn't!" she exclaimed. "It won't do either of us any good. He'll still be upset with me, and Sirius will probably be upset with _you_. I cannot let you do it."

"I don't care, Lily," Jerrica said. "I put you in a horrid position and I won't let you take the blame for it."

Lily sighed. She wished it _were_ that simple, but she couldn't – wouldn't – let her best friend take the blame for everything. Lily had, after all, agreed to The Plan; she hadn't been forced into it, and she would hate for Jerrica to lose the relationship she'd waited so long for.

"I must," Lily told her finally. "If you tell him, I'll feel even worse about the situation. Much, much worse."

Jerrica rolled her eyes. "Fine," she said, though she knew that this wasn't over. "I won't tell him. But you're going to have to do _something_, you know. This isn't right… it isn't fair."

Lily leaned back in her seat. "I don't know what to do," she replied. "Every time I try to apologize, he walks away. I haven't been able to say two words to him since he found out."

"There's only one thing to do, Lily. Approach when he has no means of escape. Trap him in his room… do something. And then, when you've got his attention, talk to him. Tell him whatever you need to tell him."

Lily bit her lip. "Do you really think it could work?" she asked skeptically. She had no idea how to go about doing this… and had certainly never trapped a boy in a room before. What was she to do?

"I don't know," Jerrica admitted with a sigh. "As I'm sure you're aware by now, my relationship expertise isn't exactly the best. All you can do at this point is try, and hope that you've tried hard enough."

_I suppose that's all anyone can ever hope for, _Lily thought.

* * *

Approaching the entrance to the Head Commons, James heaved a sigh. Living like this was too damn complicated – how much longer could he avoid a girl with whom he shared a bathroom, a common room, a _living space_, for Merlin's sake? He hadn't spoken to her since the night he learned the truth about their "relationship," but a part of him wondered if anything personal that Lily had confided in him was true. Did she truly love him, or was it all a part of her cruel game? And more importantly, did he truly love _her_, or the girl he'd always believed her to be?

He hadn't told his friends. He felt the truth of the matter was a personal one, one that didn't need sharing. James loved his friends – he truly did – but he knew they would never understand the situation. They would never even begin to comprehend why James was still in love with some form of Lily Evans after what she had done to him.

_Perhaps one day I'll look back on this and laugh, _James thought to himself. _Perhaps she won't matter to me at all anymore. _He imagined himself in the future, dashingly handsome with a beautiful yet unrecognizable girl on his arm (his wife, no doubt), walking past a graying, spinster version of Lily on the street. And he would smile sadly at her, knowing that she once could have had everything she wanted, but now had nothing.

But today wasn't one of those days, and the thought of Lily ever being miserable in her life only made James feel worse. He wished he could just stop acting like such a sentimental _girl_ and move on.

Finally entering the Commons, James sighed. Of course, there was Lily, sitting on her usual couch, waiting for him anxiously.

_Not now,_ James thought to himself, knowing that he still needed a bit more time before he could talk to her again.

"James!" Lily exclaimed, standing up and rushing toward him. "I need to talk to you."

Ignoring her comments, James hurried toward the stairs. Why was she still trying to keep up the façade when she knew that he'd learned the truth days ago? How far was she willing to go?

Once upstairs, he locked the door, though he could hear the footsteps that followed him. He noticed the doorknob making an attempt to turn, but to no avail.

"_Alohamora_!" Lily exclaimed from outside, and the door swung open at once. "Really, James… if you wanted to keep me out, certainly you could have done better than that," Lily said.

"Sorry to have made the mistake," James responded dryly. "Now get out of my room."

"No." Lily shut the door behind her, tapped her wand to the doorknob, and chanted a few words under her breath. The door locked, trapping the two of them inside. "I said I needed to talk to you. I'm not leaving until I do."

"About what? Is there someone else you'd like me to help you make jealous?" asked James sarcastically. "Want me to pretend we're married this time? Not all that unbelievable… we certainly fight like we are."

"Oh, shut up and hear me out!" Lily exclaimed, sick of James's attitude. She was here to apologize to him and he wasn't listening to her. What more could she do? "James, I'm sorry for leading you on in the beginning, but I'm not sorry for anything else. I'm not sorry for spending time with you, or for confiding in you. I'm not sorry for kissing you in the middle of the Great Hall, or for sneaking out to Hogsmeade with you. Because, James, I realized that it wasn't an act. I genuinely fancied you and couldn't bear the thought of you being with anyone else."

James shook his head. "You're horrible, you know that?" He crossed his arms. "It's like I don't even know you, Lily. You used to be this strong, passionate girl, and now you're weak enough to use someone who actually likes you. You lied to me about everything. How can I trust you?"

Lily sighed. "You know me better than anyone, James," she said. "I think deep down, you know that I wouldn't come back to you after something like this unless I really cared."

"How am I to know that?" James demanded. "How much do I really know about you? Does the name 'Harold' actually remind you of lunchmeat? Is your middle name really Grace? Do you even _have_ a sister?"

"Everything I told you was the truth!" Lily exclaimed. "What else do you want me to tell you? That I detest the taste of spinach? That my parents are teachers? That I want to change the world when I'm older? Ask whatever you like, but don't tell me I lied to you! I told you things that my best friends didn't even know."

James was silent, steaming in anger. He could not deal with this right now.

"What do you want from me, James?!" Lily shouted, upset that he had not accepted her apology. "I've apologized. You have no idea how sorry I am… I never meant to break your heart, even before I fell in love with you." She paused. "There, I said it. I love you. I'm in love with you. And I have nothing, absolutely _nothing_, to gain from telling you the most terrifying thing I've ever told someone… yet you _still_ don't believe me!"

With as much control as he could muster, James headed to the door, placed his wand against the knob, and mumbled a few words. The door flew open.

"Leave," he told Lily, and this time, she followed his command.

* * *

**Acknowledgments: **I would like to thank _fudge-butter, Ron Lover6789, CurryCurran, Cardboard, Aldenya, Mrs Claire Potter, RavieGrint, LilyHeartsJames, zEthHPfrEaK, -Jeisa-, PinkKittyMeow, _and _arielHHR_ for your reviews on Chapter 16. Hope you keep reading! 


	18. The Compromise

**Author Note:** Okay, so originally this was going to be the second-to-last chapter, but then as I was writing it I figured out that it was just going to be _so long_. So I decided to split it in two – no, not equal halves, but still split it nonetheless. Don't worry, though. Chapter Nineteen is already almost done… so it's almost like you're getting a double update! Just trust me on this and enjoy. Thanks, everyone!

* * *

**Chapter Eighteen**

The day came and went. Both Lily and James were too infuriated to speak to one another, so they kept to themselves for the rest of the day (as had become customary).

The next day, Lily finally left the Head Commons for the first time since that fateful day after Christmas, and once again became a social being. She, Jerrica, and Selena spent some long overdue time together, while the Marauder boys prepared for the arrival of Peter Pettigrew.

"Mum's letting me return for the New Year," Peter had written enthusiastically in a letter to Sirius. "Certainly beats spending the holidays at home!"

Meanwhile, the New Years' Banquet loomed even closer – only a day until the event Lily had been anticipating for weeks would finally take place.

Lily knew that she and James were expected to take escorts to the Banquet, but so far, Lily could not bring herself to ask anyone. It seemed hardly appropriate, for various reasons, and she knew that it would feel uncomfortable at this point to go with anyone other than James. Besides, what could McGonagall possibly do if the Head Girl neglected to bring a date?

The speech was becoming a much bigger issue, at any rate. Originally, Lily and James had planned on giving the speech they had written together in Hogsmeade, but now Lily could only imagine how awkward it would be for the two of them to give the speech _together_ the next night.

Most of the day was a blur for both James and Lily. Unlike Lily, James did concede to taking a date to the Banquet (although Greta didn't leave him much choice; she kept showing up wherever James was throughout the day, dropping hints until he finally asked her). He knew that Greta had always come second to Lily in his mind, but he figured that she could be intriguing enough for one night. Besides, taking her would drive Lily mad.

At some point in the day, James and Lily crossed paths again, but this time each party was calmer, cooler than before.

"I don't expect you to forgive me," Lily admitted when they finally spoke to one another, "but we can't keep living like this. We can't keep tip-toeing around each other… we still share a Common Room and that isn't going to change just because we're not getting along."

"I agree," James replied, though his face revealed no emotions. His tone was polite enough, but underneath it seemed as though this took a lot of restraint. "Let's just try to get through these next few weeks peacefully. Give it time, and maybe one day we could even be friends." He made sure he emphasized _friends_ and implied nothing more than that.

"Good." Lily crossed her arms. "Now, how are we going to give our speech at the Banquet tomorrow night? That's going to be rather awkward, isn't it?"

James nodded. "If we have to, then so be it," he said, "but it would probably be easier if we could avoid it."

"I suppose we could each give separate speeches?" suggested Lily. "I know it's rather late to decide this now, but if you want, you could give the speech we wrote together and I'll just write something else tonight."

"You don't mind?" Personally, James could care less if she did mind. A part of him felt she deserved the extra work, even though a huge chunk of the first speech was owed entirely to Lily.

"It's the least I could do."

"Fine."

And with that, the two parted ways.

* * *

"I'm back!"

It was dinnertime, and the gang turned from their seats to see Peter Pettigrew standing before them.

The boys greeted Peter with intricate handshakes; the girls greeted him with awkward hugs. He seemed most happy to be back at school with his friends – almost too happy, as though his time at home had been pure torture.

"How were things at your mum's, Pete?" Remus asked their friend.

"I s'pose they were all right," Peter replied. "It was a shame you lot couldn't come this year, though. Gets rather boring after a while. Did I miss a lot while I was gone?"

_If only you knew,_ Lily thought to herself grimly, recounting all the strange occurrences that had taken place since the holidays had begun.

The rest of dinner was absorbed in small talk, mainly concerning Peter's time at home (the boys felt terribly guilty for abandoning him this year, and thus made up for it with as many questions as possible), until Sirius brought up the New Year's Banquet.

"Can you believe it's tomorrow, mate?" Sirius grinned. "I mean, it's the last New Year we spend in this place." He slipped his arm around Jerrica and pulled her close.

It seemed as though it had only _just_ registered with Peter that Jerrica and Sirius were together.

"Oh Merlin, you don't _all_ have dates for tomorrow, do you?" Peter asked nervously.

"Well, I'm not even going," announced Remus. "So no. I don't think I'll be… er… feeling well tomorrow night."

Peter nodded understandingly. "Right, well… What about you, James? You've asked someone, I'm sure…"

James nodded.

"And I assume you girls already have dates?" Peter looked pleadingly at Selena and Lily.

Selena smiled and twirled a strand of hair. "This boy in Ravenclaw asked me the other day," she said. "Could you imagine – _me_ with a Ravenclaw?"

Remus's eyes flashed when he heard this, but nobody seemed to notice.

Lily finally spoke up. "I don't have a date," she admitted, her cheeks growing hot.

Peter looked relieved. "Could I be any luckier?" he asked with a grin. "Want to be my date?"

_Not particularly, _Lily thought to herself, but she was in a bind. She knew she wouldn't have any luck with James. And she _did_ need a date. _Beggars can't be choosers, _she thought to herself grimly.

"Er… yeah, why not?" Lily answered, blushing even more profusely (especially since this had taken place in front of her friends). She knew Jerrica and Selena would tease her about this later, but she was desperate, and she knew he was too. Hopefully she wasn't making a decision she would regret.

* * *

**Author Note**: I would like to thank _cosmopolitan_, _Li'l Albatross, vintage bluejeans, Curry Curran _(Happy Birthday!), _PinkKittyMeow, Mrs Claire Potter, Missvee, -Jeisa-, Blackcat69, Ron Lover6789, Ravie Grint, chopperchick123, LilyHeartsJames, JamesAndLilyPerfectCouple, zEthPfrEaK, KJ COLLECTIONS, risaroo852, ShadowedDark, _and _ArielHHR_ for their reviews on Chapter 17. Thank you so much… always appreciated! 


	19. Midnight

**Author Note**: Hey guys! It's been a long time since my last update, hmm? XD I hope you enjoy this chapter. Aside from that, in case I don't update for the next week, I hope you have a terrific Christmas! Thank you all for being such wonderful readers. Enjoy!

**Chapter Nineteen**

"When did I become so hideous?"

"My hair is awful!"

"Where did I put my shoes?"

"I look like such a hag!"

It was finally New Year's Eve, and Lily listened somewhat amusedly to her friends' self-deprecating remarks as the three girls prepared for the Banquet. Lily was already dressed and ready; she wore a long, emerald green gown that matched her eyes, and let her hair fall into long, loose waves.

"You both look gorgeous and you know it," Lily reassured them sincerely. "So stop worrying so much."

It was true. The way they looked tonight, any boy in the school would have been thrilled to escort them to the Banquet. Each girl's ensemble complemented her natural beauty, but the girls continued to fuss as though they looked horrible.

After the trend finally wore off, however, the conversation took a more serious turn.

"Are you nervous about giving your speech tonight?" Selena asked Lily, her tone sincere.

Lily bit her lip and nodded. "I shouldn't be," she admitted. "It's just a silly speech, nothing special, but I can't stop worrying about it."

Jerrica reached out and squeezed her best friend's hand reassuringly. "Don't give it another thought," she suggested. "It'll be over before you know it, and you'll be fantastic."

Lily smiled lightly. "Thank you," she said. "I hope you're right."

With that, the three girls finally exited Lily's dormitory, where they had prepared for the Banquet, descended the stairs, and left the Head Commons.

"Robert and I are meeting near his House," Selena said of her Ravenclaw date. "So I'm going there now, but I'll see you both in the Great Hall. And don't worry, Lily. I'm sure you'll do great."

Jerrica and Lily then parted ways with Selena, as they headed toward a flight of stairs leading to the Gryffindor tower. Outside the common room stood Sirius and James. Peter was nowhere to be found.

"Evening, m'lady!" Sirius exclaimed, taking a long look at Jerrica, who giggled quite uncharacteristically and twirled in her long lilac dress. He bowed theatrically and presented her with a long, red rose. "It would be my pleasure to escort you this evening."

Jerrica curtseyed in response, then kissed Sirius on the cheek. "The pleasure is mine," she replied, giggling again.

The two continued to flirt, now oblivious to the rest of the world, while Lily and James faced each other somewhat awkwardly.

"So, where is your date?" Lily asked finally, trying to fill the silence between them.

"Fashionably late, I suppose," James replied politely. "Much like yours, I see."

Lily smiled softly in response. "Where _is _Peter, anyway?" she wondered aloud, though part of her wished that neither Peter nor the Mystery Girl (her title for James's date, whose identity she was still unsure of) would show up.

"He's still upstairs," said James. "Honestly, I don't know what he's doing."

"That's fine." Lily looked up into James's eyes. "We have time."

James returned her gaze and nodded slowly. "Yes," he agreed. "We do."

A moment of silence passed before either of them spoke again.

"You know, Lily," James began, "you look—"

"Sorry I'm late!" a voice exclaimed, interrupting them.

Lily turned toward the portrait hole, where she noticed Peter, who was somewhat out of breath (perhaps from running down the stairs), and sporting his nicest dress robes.

"Lily," he said, "you look great!"

Lily smiled. "Thank you, Peter," she responded. "You look great, too."

"James, where's your date?" he asked, looking around anxiously. "I still haven't met her!"

James shrugged, crossing his arms. "I dunno, mate," he said. "She must be-"

"I must be _what_?" asked a familiar female voice, to whom the group turned to look.

Lily's jaw dropped when she saw that it was _Greta_, of all girls, that James had chosen as a date. Was _he_ trying to make _her_ jealous now?

James grinned as the girl approached him. "Lovely as always, Greta," he answered, slipping an arm around her waist. "Greta, meet my good friend Peter."

Peter shook her hand excitedly. "Pleased to meet you!" he exclaimed, beaming.

Greta nodded distractedly. "I'm sure," she responded, gazing at James instead. "I've missed my star seeker, you know, so I was ecstatic when you asked me to the Banquet." She eyed Lily to make sure she was paying attention.

Lily did her best to suppress her jealousy, and instead mustered a small smile. Peter, sensing something was amiss, awkwardly positioned an arm around her, thinking it might help, as the six of them began to head downstairs.

Lily smiled to herself as they entered the Great Hall. It had retained its beautiful Christmas décor, but there was always something majestic about it at night. Many students had already showed up; a local Hogsmeade band was at the front, playing covers of several popular songs, to which the students happily danced. Others sat at the small, circular tables that had been set for the occasion, talking amongst themselves and enjoying the food that was served.

"Let's eat!" exclaimed Peter, pulling Lily by the hand toward a nearby table.

Lily looked at Jerrica and shrugged, following Peter and taking a seat beside him. Their friends sat down at the table as well, waiting for Selena and her date Robert before they began to eat.

Halfway through the meal, while the others conversed pleasantly with Robert, Greta leaned in close to James and placed a hand on his thigh. "Hey," she whispered, looking up into his eyes.

James mustered a somewhat seductive smile, despite the fact that Greta was starting to annoy him. "Hey," he replied. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking you should ask me to dance."

James turned to see the rest of the table staring at them. He grinned boyishly at them. "If you'll excuse us," he said, taking Greta's hand and leading her to the floor with the others.

Lily set her fork down at once. Though she wasn't exactly taken with her date, she needed to do _something_. "Come on, Peter," she said suddenly. "Let's dance."

She was dismayed, though not surprised, to find that Peter was the least apt of dancers, and had stepped on her feet several times throughout the first song they danced to. She knew, of course, that she was probably not the perfect dance partner, either; she had been focused on James and Greta the entire time.

After a few more songs, Peter took Lily aside. "You're not having fun, are you?" he asked, crossing his arms.

Lily forced a smile and shook her head. "Of course I am," she lied, not wanting to hurt his feelings.

Peter sighed. "No, you're not," he responded. "You've been thinking about James the entire time, haven't you?"

"How did you-?"

"Sirius told me last night about you and James," he said. "He told me were together for a few days and then broke up, but that he didn't understand why. And now I see you watching James and his date ever since she showed up by the Common Room. You're not over him."

Lily sighed. "I'm sorry, Peter," she apologized, feeling terribly guilty about the entire ordeal. "I didn't mean to lead you on or anything. I suppose it's just a complicated situation and I still have feelings for him. I really am sorry."

Peter gave her a small smile. "It's fine," he said. "I'm not upset. I just thought you should know that you don't have to feel obligated to me if you're upset. When I asked you tonight, I asked you as a friend, and I didn't know about you and James."

"Thank you," Lily said sincerely. "You're a sweet guy, Peter. I'm glad I came with you." She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "But you deserve a date whose mind isn't completely scattered right now, you know? If you want to ask another girl to dance, you can." She smiled.

The two parted ways, and Lily felt a more heightened sense of respect for Peter as she headed back to the table, where Selena and Jerrica sat waiting for her.

"Where are your dates?" she asked her friends as she took a seat.

"Robert took Sirius to meet some of his Ravenclaw friends," Selena replied. "We decided to stay here and talk about them behind their backs."

"Always a good decision," Lily said with a small laugh. "What's the verdict?"

"Robert is simply _gorgeous_," Jerrica giggled. "If I weren't with Sirius…"

Selena smiled. "He's passable, but a little boring. I wish I went with-" she stopped herself just in time.

Lily looked puzzled. "With who?"

"Oh, never mind, no one," Selena replied. "What about you, Lils? How's your night going?"

Lily bit her lip. "I can't stop thinking about him. I don't think I can be here, seeing them together right now."

"At least it's keeping your mind off the speech, right?" Jerrica asked.

"Well, it _did_," Lily replied somewhat crossly, having temporarily forgotten the speech until now.

"I'm sorry, Lily. It'll be over before you know it." Jerrica squeezed her friend's hand reassuringly. "When are you giving the speech, anyway?"

"Right after James gives his. What time is it now?"

Jerrica glanced at the clock. "It's five past eleven. You're giving the speech before midnight, correct?"

Lily nodded. "As far as I know, I'm to finish the speech right before our final countdown."

The tension was rising, and her friends sensed it, so they tried to talk about other things – who was wearing what, which couples looked adorable and which looked absolutely ridiculous, how cute the band's lead singer seemed to be. Before they knew it, Dumbledore was at the front of the Great Hall, giving his annual speech.

As he finished, he beamed at the multitude of students that faced him now. "And now I would like to introduce your Head Boy and Head Girl, James Potter and Lily Evans," Dumbledore said, a twinkle in his eyes.

James and Lily each made their ways through the crowd up to the front stage. They each smiled at the crowd, as James stepped forward to speak first.

As he spoke of the future and of new beginnings, Lily's head was spinning. All she could think about was the night that they had written this speech together, and how every five minutes, James would try to kiss her while she tried to write. She noticed, as James spoke, that he took a few creative liberties with the speech, and she was impressed. He was so… charming… and she felt as though the entire school was falling in love with him the way she was.

"As we enter the year 1978, we should remember to keep looking forward. Beyond all obstacles we may face, _we_ are the future," James concluded with a grin, as the students applauded his speech. "Thank you, thank you. And now, Lily Evans."

Lily stepped forward with a smile. "Thank you, James," she said, her heart beating faster than ever. "Good evening, everyone. As you all know, we're here tonight to bring in the new year, and for many of us, a new year means change.

"As James said before, a new year gives everyone a chance to start over and look to the future. We can focus on all the wonderful accomplishments we've made in the past twelve months, and use those to thrust us into even greater opportunities. We have progressed so much over the last year, and for those of you who have taken your OWLs, you know exactly what I'm talking about," she said, generating some slight laughter.

"However, despite our accomplishments, we have not been perfect. We have made mistakes, and some of them have been at the expense of others. We have treated our enemies and even our friends in ways that we would not want to be treated. We have expected more of others than we have been willing to give. We have broken each other's hearts and broken each other's trust." She sighed, knowing this applied to her possibly more than anyone else in this room.

"I will admit that I, too, have done some things I am not proud of. I have not always been there for my friends in times of need. I haven't always been the most patient, or kind, or easygoing person to deal with, and I understand now more than ever that the New Year is a perfect time to recognize all of that." Despite her immunity to tears in front of others, Lily could feel her eyes begin to water. _What is wrong with me?_ She wondered, trying to blink them back.

"The new year is a good opportunity for you to make amends with those you have wronged, if those people are willing to listen. If you love that person, let him or her know that. There is so much we take for granted and shouldn't, but first and foremost, we need to show our appreciation for the people we care about. To the ones I have wronged, I am truly, deeply sorry. I really do care about you, and I regret everything I did to you."

Lily could feel the tears coming down (she just couldn't help it) and she tried to wipe them off her cheeks, hoping nobody would notice. She did, however, hope that James was listening, as the apology was directed solely to him. "To conclude, I hope you enter this new year with good relationships and a positive outlook. Starting fresh can make a new year the best you've ever had… so make it your best."

The Great Hall erupted in applause, as Lily hurried off the stage and to the very back of the room. She couldn't stop the tears from flowing now; she was lucky she had been able to speak clearly despite them.

_If you don't let them in, they can't see you cry, _Lily thought to herself, remembering her confession to James just days earlier. She had always tried to keep things bottled up, and that had gotten her nowhere. Now that she had revealed something personal, she felt lighter, freer, as though things might just turn out decently after all.

Moments later, as the other students began to count down to midnight, Lily sighed. She knew she had to stay in the Great Hall until the final "hurrah," but she planned to leave as soon as she wished her friends a happy new year.

"_Ten! Nine!_"

She wanted to join in with the others, but her heart wasn't set on it.

"_Eight! Seven!_"

She watched the clock tick, envied those around her who would enter the new year happily.

"_Six!_"

Lily felt a tap on her shoulder. She spun around.

"James?!" she exclaimed, bewildered by his sudden appearance.

"That was a beautiful speech," he said sincerely.

"James, I'm so sorry," Lily told him truthfully. "I really-"

"_Three! Two!_"

"I know," James interrupted her with a grin.

"_One!_"

And as the clock struck midnight, James pulled Lily close to him and kissed her passionately. Lily wrapped her arms around him, becoming completely oblivious to everything around her, and allowed the kiss to deepen. The illusion of the night sky on the ceiling now revealed fireworks overhead, and at that perfect moment, Lily knew that 1978 would be her best year yet.

**Note**: One last chapter to go! Hope you enjoyed this one as much as I enjoyed writing it!


	20. Completely Incomplete

**Author Note: **Wow! So I simply cannot believe that this is the _last_ chapter of Completely Incomplete. It's been an awesome two-and-a-half years writing for all of you & I hope you had fun along the ride! You all have been great readers and I only hope you'll read my other stories and enjoy those too. Thank you all for being so great. I hope you enjoy the final chapter, inordinately corny as it may be!

OH! And Happy Christmas to all of you:)

* * *

**Chapter Twenty**

_June 1978_

"Lily, seriously, we have to go now!" James exclaimed, trying to sit up straight on the couch.

Lily laughed and kissed James anyway, lightly pulling him back down again. "Later," she told him, not wanting to leave just yet.

"Now." James tried to use a sterner tone this time, but to no avail – he couldn't keep himself away from her. "All right, maybe in a few minutes," he murmured, pressing himself closer to her. "I didn't realize you wanted me this badly."

"Oh, but I do," Lily said truthfully, deepening the kiss.

Though part of James advised him against it, he finally regained enough composure to stand up and break the kiss. "We really have to go, Lily."

Lily sat up, and shot him a puzzled look. "The one time I'm throwing myself at you, and you want to go to_ Hogsmeade_?" she asked, bewildered.

"It's just that we promised everyone we would meet them there, and it's our last trip before we leave," James reasoned (somewhat uncharacteristically). "Besides, there's something… er… important I have to do there."

Lily crossed her arms. "What's that… kidnap Madam Rosmerta and bring her back with you?"

James grinned. "Good idea… but no. Can't tell you right this minute, but we have to go _now_. Trust me on this, Lily – it's important."

Lily sighed. "Fine, James. I trust you." She stood up and began to head toward the portrait hole.

"Oh, and Lily?"

Lily turned around.

"The events prior... to be continued?" James asked hopefully.

Lily bit her lip and nodded. "How can I resist?"

James's grin widened. "Nobody ever can. Now let's go."

* * *

"Can you believe this will be our last time here together?" Lily asked sadly. 

She sat in the usual booth, along with James, Sirius, Jerrica, and Peter, in the middle of The Three Broomsticks, looking around somewhat nostalgically. Sipping her butterbeer, she smiled softly, remembering all of the fond memories she had of Hogsmeade, and could not imagine where the time had gone.

"I know," Jerrica agreed with a nod. "What are we going to do without The Three Broomsticks?"

Sirius shook his head. "Stop being such girls!" he replied with a laugh. "It's our last time here as _students_, but that doesn't mean they're barring us forever. We can still come back."

Peter sighed. "They're right, though. It wouldn't be the same."

"Well, I know _I'll _be back someday," James announced, grinning. "Madam Rosmerta wouldn't be able to _survive_ without my visits." He tossed a wink at the attractive young barmaid, who responded with an eye-roll and an attempt not to smile.

Lily smacked him lightly against the chest. "It sounds like your next visit will be _alone_," she told him mock-threateningly.

James flinched slightly, then draped an arm around the Head Girl. "You know you'd never leave me, love."

Sirius laughed at this banter, as Selena and Remus came to join them, butterbeers in hand.

"Oi! Where have you two lovebirds been hiding?" Sirius inquired.

Selena blushed profusely at this, while Remus seemed relatively unabashed. Though it was obvious that the two of them had feelings for one another (and had probably acted upon those feelings), nothing was official yet, and as far as Selena was concerned, nobody knew of anything that had gone on between them.

"We were up at the bar ordering our drinks," lied Remus. (The two had actually been outside snogging behind the building.)

Selena nodded to corroborate the story, as the two slid into the booth. The seven friends continued to reminisce about the many memories they'd had within this village over the years.

As they finished their drinks, the friends headed outside, where they discussed their plans for the afternoon.

"I really want to go to Sadie's Boutique and see if there isn't something pretty I can wear to Lily's sister's wedding," Jerrica announced. "There was a coupon in Witch Weekly."

"Count me in!" Selena exclaimed, whipping out a coupon of her own. "I need something to wear too."

"Why can't girls ever wear the same dress twice?" Sirius asked incredulously. "I'm planning on wearing the same dress robes I wore to the New Years' Banquet."

Remus crossed his arms. "Well, while you're all looking for clothes, I wanted to go to Honeydukes' and pick up some chocolate one last time. Anyone want to come with me?"

Peter grinned. "I'll come!"

"James, where are you off to?" Lily asked.

James shook his head. "That's top secret information," he responded, seemingly serious. "Only Padfoot can come with me."

Though this confused Lily, she nodded in agreement. "Fine," she said. "Then I'll go to Sadie's with the girls."

Everyone began to part ways, when suddenly James grabbed Lily's hand and pulled her back to him.

"What is it, James?" Lily asked, even more confused than before.

"Meet me at Honeydukes' in about an hour, all right?" he whispered in her ear.

Lily gave him a half smile. "Sure," she answered slowly, before running off with her friends.

* * *

"What do you think of this one?" Jerrica asked, holding up a purple dress. "I mean, it's nice, but is it _me_?" 

Lily smiled. "It _screams_ you. Now go try it on."

Jerrica headed over to the fitting room as Selena was walking out.

Selena twirled around in the pink dress she had chosen. "How's it look?" she asked.

"Wonderful," Lily said truthfully. "All the Muggles at Petunia's wedding will be begging you and Jer to tell them where you bought your dresses."

Selena cocked her head to the side in thought. "The guests don't know we're witches?"

Lily shook her head. "Not exactly, and we're not to tell them. We have to be careful what we say around them, you know? I doubt if even Vernon's family knows."

Selena nodded in understanding.

Suddenly two of the fitting room doors opened. Jerrica stepped out, looking gorgeous in the dress she had chosen, and turned to see who had walked out of the room beside her. There she saw none other than Greta Catchlove, wearing the same dress as she wore.

Jerrica, Lily, and Selena exchanged looks, as Greta pretended to ignore them and talk to her friend (a semi-familiar Ravenclaw who had been standing nearby) before returning to the fitting room.

"The dress looks much better on you than on her," Selena told Jerrica.

Jerrica grinned. "Thanks, 'Lena. Whatever happened to that girl, anyway? She sort of melted off the planet after you and James got back together."

Lily smiled. "I hear she's back with Amos. The prats deserve each other."

"I can _hear_ you!" shouted a voice from the fitting rooms.

The three friends giggled quietly, knowing that karma had finally worked itself out.

* * *

As they left the store, James pocketed the small box, and turned to Sirius. 

"Do you think she'll like it?" he asked nervously.

Sirius sighed, having answered this question at least ten times by now. "Yes," he answered. "She'll love it."

James smiled to himself, satisfied with this answer. Then, he grew nervous again.

"What if she says no?"

Sirius shook his head. "You know that's not going to happen, mate. Not after everything you two have been through this year."

"Man, I feel like I'm getting ready for my first Quidditch match or something," James said with a laugh. "I just hope this turns out better than the match did."

"Oh, I remember that… you fell off your broom about five minutes into the game, no?" Sirius laughed.

James nodded. "Not exactly my moment of glory," he said grimly.

Sirius grinned at his friend. "No worries, Prongsie. She'll be thrilled."

"I hope so," James replied. He paused for a moment. "Thanks for coming with me, mate. You have no idea what this means to me."

"Any time, James. I know you'll do the same for me."

And now, it was only a matter of time.

* * *

"So, what do you think the boys are doing right now?" Lily asked as they walked around Hogsmeade. 

"Sirius is off with your crazy boyfriend, fulfilling some kind of secret mission – remember?" Jerrica laughed. "I wonder if it doesn't involve some kind of pranks at Zonko's?"

Selena shrugged. "Want to check Zonko's for them?" she suggested, hoping that Remus might have wandered over there by chance.

Lily looked at the time and shook her head. "You two can go ahead. I promised James I'd meet him by Honeydukes' in a few minutes. I'll let you know what the secret mission was as soon as he tells me."

"Good luck!" her friends called out to her as they separated.

Lily turned the corner to see James pacing in front of their favorite sweets shop. She smiled to herself, wondering what he was up to. "You're a little early," she said.

James grinned back at her. "Come here," he told her, taking her hand and leading her down the street, directly in front of a tree.

"Do you remember where this is?" he asked.

Lily shook her head, confused. "The most random spot you could think of?" she guessed jokingly.

James crossed his arms. "Lily. You don't remember? This is the spot where we first kissed."

"Oh no, how could I forget?" Lily laughed good-naturedly. "I didn't slap you that day, did I?"

James grinned. "I was the happiest guy in the world that night. I had loved you for so long and that was the first time I saw that you might actually grow to love me back one day."

"You were right," Lily said, beaming. "I do love you, James."

"Good to hear." He paused for a moment. "You looked so beautiful in the moonlight, Lily," he continued. "And I know I sound completely cliché and corny right now, but I don't care. I want you to know that when we're together, you make me happier than anyone else has ever made me feel. I've never felt for any other girl the way I feel for you."

Lily couldn't hold back her smile. She could feel her eyes begin to well up.

"You know more about me than anyone else, and I think I know just as much about you. I know that you wouldn't name your child after something that reminds you of lunchmeat. I know that you're a hard egg to crack, but that once you've opened up to someone, you're fiercely loyal to that person. I know that you hate to play Wizard's Chess, but that you play it with me anyway to shut me up. And I know that you have the prettiest smile I've ever seen.

"Lily, I love to see you smile. I would do anything in my power to make you happy. And I know we're young, but if you were to ask me who I'd want to spend the rest of my life with, my answer would be the same today as it would be in fifty years. The answer is _you_ and it will always be you, because without you, I'm completely incomplete."

He knelt down and pulled a small box out of his robe pocket. He opened it up to reveal a ring, and then looked up longingly at a wide-eyed Lily.

"So I'm asking you now, in the middle of Hogsmeade, if you would let me make that possible." He took a deep breath. "Lily, will you marry me?"

Lily tried to blink back the tears, but she couldn't do it. "Yes!" she told him, laughing and crying at the same time. "Nothing would make me happier."

James grinned and slipped the ring onto Lily's finger. "No slap?" he asked jokingly, trying to contain his happiness. "Because you should know, I like fiery redheads."

"Get used to it," she said, smiling as she wrapped her arms around him. She stood on tiptoe and kissed him. "Because you're stuck with the fieriest redhead of all."

"Good," James replied, kissing her back. "I'm up for the challenge."

And as they walked away from Honeydukes, hand in hand, they knew they would be ready to face any challenges that stood in their way.

* * *

**Final Author Note:** I hope this wasn't _too_ corny for everyone's taste! It was hard to write the proposal scene, partly because I've never actually been proposed to (har har har), but I guess I was feeling sentimental, finally wrapping up this story after so many months. So much has changed in the time that this story has been written, in my life and I'm sure in yours as well. I hope you've enjoyed the time spent reading this story, and I hope to hear from you in the future. I hope you enjoyed! Best of luck in everything you do. 

**Acknowledgments:** I would like to thank everyone who has read and reviewed this story. You have no idea how much you have helped me along the way. I also would like to specifically thank_vintagebluejeans, CurryCurran, chopperchick123, -Jeisa-, RavieGrint, missvee, Mrs Claire Potter, Sterling Fire Kittie, PinkKittyMeow, cosmopolitan, BrazilianPrincess, Cardboard, KJ COLLECTIONS, Lo, Loz727, TheHorcruxHunter, _and_ LilyHeartsJames_ for their reviews on Chapter 18 and 19. Thank you all so, so, so much for all of your kind words. I hope this final chapter doesn't disappoint!


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